Instill Inherent Reading Strategies

When expert readers read a complex text, and even a simple text, they do a number of things other than simply read. They note the main ideas, pose internal questions, make predictions, notice new and unknown terminology, pick out their favorite and least favorite parts of a text, and more. These are internal processes that most expert readers do naturally. Some skillful readers find it helpful to mark-up their reading material. They underline, circle, and write notes in the margins. They do all of this to better understand and digest what they are reading, and because interacting with the text makes reading more digestible.

Novice readers are not so adept at these strategies, and meaning sometimes slips from them or doesn’t quite catch. However, novice readers can improve comprehension when they are taught to mark the text, an increasingly common instructional strategy. Ultimately, the goal of having students mark the text is not to show how many words they can circle, but to teach reading strategies that will hopefully become innate internal processes.

Typical Text Marking

From experience and research, I have discovered that the AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) marking the test strategy is one of the most widely used methods. Class members follow three main steps to mark the text:

1. Number the paragraphs.
2. Circle key terms (repeated words, names, places, specific vocabulary, etc.).
3. Underline main ideas and claims.

This method has certain advantages. Numbering the paragraphs is surprisingly helpful, and surprisingly difficult. Recently, when reading a longer article with my class, I numbered the paragraphs along with the class. “Ok, I’ve got 42,” I said. Half the class nodded, the other half looked confused. “But I have 40! And my partner has 43!” I second-guessed myself and re-counted. Still 42. Once the confusion was cleared up, talking about the article was easy. When a student wanted to point out a claim or key term that he had marked, all I had to say was, “What paragraph is it in?” and everyone was in the same place.

Additionally, underlining claims and main ideas helps pupils to discover the focus of the article and dig into the author’s purpose for writing the article. Often, readers have difficulty picking out claims and main ideas, so you might need to frontload with some claim identification practice.

Finally, key terms, while seemingly innocuous, can hold the entire meaning of a text. I observed a teacher who did something rather remarkable with key terms. She had each class member come up to the whiteboard and write a key term. Once they were finished, she composed an impromptu summary, using the key terms as a guide. She used every single key term in her summary and these words helped to form a very complete rundown of the article they were reading in class.

Alternative Text Marking

Some teachers feel limited by this common method of marking the text, or they find that it doesn’t work for their particular class. Luckily, marking the text is adaptable. Personalize it for your class by changing the symbols and the marking task. There are a number of different symbols you can have your class use. Learners can star, underline with a squiggly line, box, draw arrows, write questions marks, draw smiley faces, or color-code. Here are some ideas for marking tasks that I’ve tried:

• Golden line—a line in the text that stands out the most, for any number of reasons.
• Sentences or sections that are confusing.
• Unknown words.
• Instances of figurative language or literary devices.
• Important facts.
• A sentence with which you agree or disagree.
• Important details that support claims.
• Transition words or phrases.
• Write questions in the margins.
• Briefly summarize each section or paragraph in the margins.

While an assignment involving marking the text is often met with heavy sighs, class members are interacting more deeply with the text and learning not only the content of the reading, but how to read and comprehend something complex. In practical terms, text marking is a versatile strategy that can be used as a standalone activity or a lead-up to an involved task, such as writing a summary or an essay. With some hard work and dedication, novice readers who mark the text will internalize the strategies and become expert readers who question, predict, re-read, and more without even noticing.

Additional Resources for Marking a Text

Mark a Science Text

A lesson geared specifically toward practicing text marking and reading comprehension strategies in the context of a science classroom. Class members read and mark the text, meet with partners or small groups to discuss, and complete an assessment or essay.

Focus on Text Structure

Help your class with reading comprehension. Using post-it notes, learners mark an unfamiliar informational text while paying attention to structure and content. This five-day lesson plan includes discussion questions, vocabulary, and a specific focus for each day of reading.

Actively Read Edgar Allan Poe

Class members become involved in the text as they read, question, and mark Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “A Tell-Tale Heart.” Using a pen and some prior knowledge, readers prepare themselves to write a response to the story that shows they used active reading strategies.