Write on, make

notes, and
take
ownership!

Making a Date to
Annotate!

NH
,
r
e
est
h
c
Man

What is the effect on students reading

comprehension in an inner city, lower level
sophomore English classroom, when students are
given copies of a literary text they can annotate?
Unde
rs
abilit tanding o
y
r
with to transac
a tex
t
t

a
Can be
oem,
p
,
l
e
v
o
n
or
article,
play

What did my two classrooms at CHS

look like?
39 Students Total
25/39 students cognitive impaired or
mental illness
19/39 students are English Language
Learners
7/39 re-taking the course
Study: 22 students
o 8 CI
o 15 ELL

Comparison of study groups in

Mods A and B
MOD. A

7:45am start time

13 Student
participants (21
students in class)
10/13 participants
ELL
5/13 IEPs
66% Average Class
Grade

MOD. B

8:25am start time

9 Student
participants (18
students total)
5/9 participants
ELL
3/9 IEPs
74% Average
Class Grade

So, what was the problem?

Students disengaged with the text
Unwilling to participate
Unable to consistently and accurately
answer comprehension questions
based on the CCSS
Transaction with the text was
minimal (Rosenblatt)

How I reached my inquiry

question
Reliance on writing on literary texts

What is the effect on students reading

comprehension in an inner city, lower
level sophomore English classroom,
when students are given copies of a
literary text they can annotate?

What educational theory inspired

this study?
Louise Rosenblatt (1934) [page 3]
Transactional Theory of Reading
and Writing
Vygotsky (1978)
Zone of Proximal
Development
Beers (2012)
Direct reading instruction strategies

Which Teacher Action Researchers

informed this study?
Keene and Zimmerman (2007)
Direct reading comprehension instruction

Porter-ODonnell (2004)
Annotations while reading novel

Peter Elbow (2004)

Relationship between reading and writing
Reading as a process

Poem Analysis Activity

Harlem,

[page 4]

No writing on the text!

Reread Harlem
Direct instruction of annotation
Circle unknown words
Paraphrase in margins
Underline interesting/thought provoking
information

Feedback (impressions/perceptions)

[Page
5]

My methods were inspired

by
Zwyica and Gomez (2008)
Annotation in a science classroom

Peterson (1992)
Highlighting

Brown (2007)
Users guide

What exactly happened in room

521?

4 Week Study
Student filled out survey
Modeled with A Raisin in the Sun
Scaffolded annotations on Tears of a Tiger by
Sharon Draper for first two chapters
Students worked 3 weeks annotating
Used teacher observation log, annotation log
and comprehension checks as assessments
Students filled out a post-study survey

[Page 7]

Methodology

Data collection tools I

used.
Teacher Observation Log [page 8]
Annotation Log [page 9]
Students Formative and Summative
Assessment Log [page 10]
Students Perception Surveys [page 3,
page 11 ]

The in class process

Write your name on this!

Writing utensils out!

Pausing to reflect on annotations

What I observed

A snapshot of ownership

How did annotations affect

comprehension check scores?

Annotation Example 1

Annotation Example 2
(60% on comprehension

Student annotations and

comprehension score progression

Annotation Example 3
(84% on comprehension

Annotation Example 4
(90% on comprehension

Is holding a pen enough?

So, they read!

32% students made annotations at least
50% of the time
86% students regularly read and/or
annotated
Increased engagement with text
Showed in class through discussion/participation

Coincided with research

Increased READING means

increased assessment scores
64% students earned higher scores
on comprehension quizzes as time
went on
75% students who took the Tears of a
Tiger summative assessment scored
higher than the previous units
summative assessment

Confounding the research

Anticipated higher comprehension
scores
Time constraints
Demographics
Multitasking was a challenge for
students
Accuracy of comprehension quizzes
Quizzes enough to test comprehension?

Ill definitely do THIS again!

Formative assessments
Modeling, scaffolding, direct reading
instruction
Reading as a process
Use post-it notes

Next time Ill

Give students more time!
Allow students to annotate while
reading silently
Give students smaller passages to
closely read

Larger conclusions
If students are to succeed, we have
to give them the tools they need
Students must understand the
purpose of the assignment and how
it will help them
Annotation encourages discussion,
engagement

Effect on my pedagogy
High expectations
Skills and strategies
Transferable skills