1. Introducing Annotation

2. What Annotation is Not
Simply highlighting and underlining and circling words/phrases
Personal reactions from you that are mostly opinion-based like “Wow” or “Yuck!” or “That’s Stupid”
What else?

3. Definition:
It is a meaningful interaction between you and the text that helps you learn how to…

4. Identify and focus on the most relevant details & story elements
Not only identify characters and their basic roles, but also understand their motivations and effects on others (aka full characterization)
Make connections between ideas
Explore the function and effect of various literary elements (like setting, conflict, mood, tone, imagery, figurative language, and TONS of other things…)

5. Ask and try to answer questions
Put all of these pieces together (plus a whole bunch more) to ultimately get to those higher level thinking skills on Bloom’s Taxonomy like understanding, evaluation, and application SO THAT YOU CAN write about the big picture ideas like author’s intent and theme

6. Annotation helps you go beyond WHAT happens to WHY and HOW it happens