Running head: ANNOTATIONS 1

Eighth Graders and Annotations

Sarah Edwards Baker

North Carolina State University

Author Note

Sarah Baker is a graduate student in the College of Education studying New Literacies

and Global Learning with a concentration in K-12 Literacy.

This analysis of research was conducted for ECI 541: Reading in the Content Areas.

Correspondence concerning this report should be addressed to Sarah Baker, Ravenscroft

School, 7409 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh, North Carolina 27615. Contact: ​seedward@ncsu.edu​.
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Abstract

This report analyzes the impact of required annotations on middle school students’ engagement

with texts. As an eighth grade teacher, I have been preparing my students for the requirements of

Honors English I by asking them to work toward annotating twenty-five percent of every page in

every text that we read. I started assigning this about two years ago, and I have noticed a

significant decrease in student enjoyment with reading ever since. Through research, I have

found that teaching the foundations of close reading with short passages has a positive impact on

student growth and achievement, but rigorous annotations requirements with every text is

counter-productive.

Keywords:​ annotations, close reading, engagement

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Eighth Graders and Annotations

I started teaching at Ravenscroft in the middle of the year five years ago. I had just

finished fulfilling my commitment to the state of North Carolina as a Teaching Fellow, and I was

ready for a new challenge. On my first day, my classes were scheduled to start reading​ To Kill a

Mockingbird b​ y Harper Lee. This was a particularly significant change for me because I had

never taught a whole-class novel unit during my time in public school. I assigned chapter one for

homework, and a student in my first period class raised her hand and asked if they needed to

annotate as they read. I replied instinctively, “No, I’d rather you just focus on reading. We’ll

have a discussion about the chapter tomorrow in class.” The class erupted into surprised gasps,

but they seemed extremely thankful. When I questioned their reaction, they replied that they’ve

always ​had to annotate throughout middle school, and they “hate” the books they’re assigned as

a result.

I continued with this practice of limited annotations for a couple of years. The more I

became accustomed to Ravenscroft culture, however, the more I reflected on the fact that sixth,

seventh, and ninth grade teachers were all assigning various levels of marginal annotation

requirements. I considered that I might be doing my students a disservice by not requiring the

practice as they read, so I met with one of the ninth grade teachers. She explained that students in

English I (both Honors and College Preparatory) annotate twenty-five percent of every page they

read. It was important to her that students be able to determine significance, seek clarification,

make connections, and/or identify literary elements in ​at least ​twenty-five percent of every page.

The following school year, I gave my eighth grade students the “goal” of annotating twenty-five

percent of every page.

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In my mind (and seemingly that of my upper school counterparts), having students

annotate close to twenty-five percent of every page increased the rigor of my course. It seemed

justified to me that requiring annotations for every text (regardless of genre, length, etc.) would

be a concrete way to prove that my students are reading well, identifying the big picture,

determining key ideas, and making connections (Paul et al., 2004, p. 36). Also, despite my

school not formally adopting the Common Core State Standards, I had a heightened awareness

that “the CCSS places special emphasis on students reading texts closely” (Hinchman et. al,

2013, p. 442).

The problem is not in the practice of annotating itself, but that annotations have become

just another box to check for my students. They engage in meaningful discussions, but they

rarely are using their annotations to do so. Oftentimes, the most engaged students actually forget

(or don’t have time) to complete their annotations the night before. When I collect books to take

a grade for annotations, a majority of the marginal notes include phrases like “OMG!” or “What

does this mean?” instead of thoughtful connections or insights. Roughly a fifth of each class ends

up with a less than satisfactory score as a result of the check.

Text annotations “can be used as a cognitive literacy strategy across content areas to help

students to understand text structure, identify and analyze important concepts, and communicate

their understanding of those concepts” (Vacca et. al, 2017, p. 293). When scaffolded

appropriately, these annotations are an invaluable resource for students to become active,

metacognitive readers. If a teacher, like myself, however, is assigning annotations for every book

and ignoring the purpose for students reading a particular text, then the work the student is

completing is inefficacious. Instead of my students reading solely for the purpose of

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understanding and connecting with the characters in ​To Kill a Mockingbird​, they are overly

concerned with finding various motifs and themes, identifying every literary element, and trying

to ask a meaningful question whether or not they actually have one.

“This problem is that the mind’s focus is shifted to the mechanics needed to accomplish a

task rather than the task’s objectives themselves... Yet, teachers continue to encourage readers to

stop reading​ and prove to use they are ‘active readers’” (Narter, 2013, p. 66). When middle

school students spend every night reading and annotating a chapter, they see the text less for its

value and more for it being a channel by which to become more self-aware about their own

personal learning (Narter, 2013, p. 63). The significance of the literature itself is then lost in the

shuffle of academia, and readers who were once passionate about characters, storylines, and

series, are bored because they are focused on they way in which they learn rather than the

content of what they are learning through reading.

Therefore, the intent of assigning annotations is not ultimately matching the impact on

my students. “...The over-teaching of reading, despite its best intentions, has alienated many

students from the act of reading entirely” (Narter, 2013, p. 63). Instead of adding rigor to the

curriculum, requiring annotations is causing students to become frustrated and oftentimes feel as

though they are ineffective readers. Students, particularly those with a learning difference, are

challenged by texts that are above their general Lexile levels, but simply reading and

comprehending are not enough under my current class requirements.

The clear solution I see is to treat my eighth graders as they are, developmentally.

“Students deserve strategies that promote their participation in reading closely, especially when

they are dealing with complex texts” (Hinchman et. al, 2013, p. 445). By utilizing a ​variety ​of
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prereading, during reading, and after reading strategies, students are ​becoming ​active readers

instead of forcing themselves to prove their active processes to me (Vacca et. al, 2017, p. 147).

Students will learn skills that they can apply to the “twenty-five percent rule” when they get to

upper school. Active reading is more than marginalia, afterall, and marginalia is coming at the

expense of student engagement for my eighth graders. While annotating is a strategy that can

most definitely be explicitly taught, strategically assigned, and used effectively with a variety of

texts, it is not the only one. Francis Bacon wrote it best: “Some books are to be tasted, others to

be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested.” Every text should be treated as we do

each student: differentiated with respect for what it brings to the classroom.
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References

Hinchman, K. A., & Moore, D. W. (2013). Close reading: A cautionary interpretation.​Journal of

Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 56​(6), 441. Retrieved from

https://proxying.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prox.lib.nc

su.edu/docview/1316188776?accountid=12725

Narter, D. (2013). Pencils down: Is mimicking the behaviors of "good readers" bad for good

readers?​ English Journal, 102​(5), 63-68. Retrieved from

https://proxying.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prox.lib.nc

su.edu/docview/1353651850?accountid=12725

Paul, R., & Elder, L. (2004). Critical thinking... and the art of close reading, part III.​Journal of

Developmental Education, 28(​ 1), 36-37. Retrieved from

https://proxying.lib.ncsu.edu/index.php/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.prox.lib.nc

su.edu/docview/228536031?accountid=12725

Vacca, R. T., Vacca, J. A., & Mraz, M. (2017). ​Content area reading: Literacy and learning

across the curriculum.​ Boston: Pearson.