Annotating with a purpose

Today I tried a new thing in 8th grade English...Annotating With a Purpose. We are currently working through John Steinbeck's The Pearl and they were tasked with reading one of the chapters as homework last night. Before class I copied a five page section from what they were assigned to read last night. They had already read this material once so it was fresh in their mind. I chose to copy the pages so that they could highlight the actual text, rather than take notes on a separate sheet of paper. Later they mentioned that they really enjoyed that aspect of it.

I handed them the copied pages and told them that they were going to focus on three things, which I wrote on the board:

1. When they came across a phrase or idea that caught their eye, either because they thought it was well written, or because it made an excellent point, they were told to highlight the phrase and put a (!) next to it. 
2. When they came across a phrase or idea that brought a question to their mind, (WHY did that character respond that way? Where is this town located I wonder?) they were told to highlight the phrase and put a (?) next to it.
3. When they came across a phrase or idea that confused them, they were told to highlight the phrase and put a (??) next to it. 

They read the selection independently and annotated as they went. Once everyone was done I had them discuss what they had highlighted (and why) with their table partner. Finally, I called on each table and had them pick something from each category that they highlighted and explain to the class why. 

EVERY SINGLE STUDENT participated. They all had excellent things to say and the discussion was amazing. As I was walking around, some of the students mentioned they were struggling with the (??) category. "Nothing confuses me!" But then as we went around and they heard some of the things their classmates had highlighted they realized that they had inadvertently missed some things that were in fact confusing. ("Ooohhh...that's a good point, I don't know why he said that either...")

Once every student had a chance to share, I asked the group what they thought about the activity and I was so encouraged by their responses:

• "I really loved hearing what everyone else found interesting or confusing. It helped me notice things about the story that I would have never considered."
• "I'm really glad we were able to highlight actual words instead of just take our own notes on a separate sheet of paper."
• "Even though I read it last night, I caught so much more after reading it this time."

The thing I absolutely loved the most was that every student, even those who generally try their hardest to not be called on, (or who are perhaps too cool to participate) added to the discussion. Not only did they add to the discussion but their insights were spot on and profound.

This concept is simple, and because of that there isn't any confusion or anxiety over what they have been tasked to do. Additionally, they were so focused on their three tasks that they viewed the text in an entirely new way. 

A few of my favorite comments from today...

"I was wondering why he said this when earlier he said this?"

"What does this word mean?"

"This phrase makes me think this may happen in the next chapter."

"This word stood out to me because it was mentioned three times."