Jessica Zappala

Patty Hicks
EDUC 901A
May 2, 2015

Literature Review
As part of my personal pedagogy, I feel that one of the most important
responsibilities I have as a teacher is to give my students the skills necessary to succeed. I
believe it is essential to give students scaffolded strategies that they can use on their own
and in their future. My personal pedagogy is also inspired by literary theorist Louise
Rosenblatt (1988), who explained in her article, The Transactional Theory of Reading
and Writing, the roles and complex interrelationship that exists between reading and
writing. Rosenblatt (1988) identified the students linguistic-experiential reservoir as the
essential component in the making of meaning of a text (p. 3). The more a students
linguistic reservoir is tapped into and built upon, the more they can begin to connect and
transact with the text (p. 4). With this in mind, while student teaching in a lower level,
inner city, sophomore English classroom, I noticed my students were often unable to
conduct this transaction with their course material. While reading literary texts, they
were disengaged, unwilling to participate, and unable to answer comprehension questions
based on the requirements of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Since my
pedagogy is strongly based on teaching students the strategies and skills needed to
succeed, I decided it was time to implement a new strategy they could use not only in my
class but in other disciplines too: annotation skills.
To begin my study and research, it was vital to first understand the definition of
annotation when used in an academic setting as a during reading strategy. I began my
research and found teacher researchers Zywica & Gomezs (2008) definition of

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annotation to be a structured way to mark up a text so it is more manageable (p.157).

They also grouped annotation as one of several direct reading comprehension
instructional tools, which is a strategic literacy approach utilizing instruction routines
and literacy strategies to support students meaning making with the text (p. 158). This
is as opposed to a strategy used by students on their own and without teacher led
instruction. A study by Crisp & Johnson (2005) found that students often mark up tests
while working on them, which might reflect the cognitive support for comprehension
building that annotations can provide (p. 944). In a literary text, students can use
annotations to highlight important information like main ideas (argument or claim),
supporting ideas (evidence), key content vocabulary words, definitions, and transitions
(Zwyica & Gomez, 2008, p. 2).
Before I implemented my teacher led instruction and strategy, I wanted to
understand what strategies students use on their own while reading. Hong-Nam (2014)
studied 96 students to discover what strategies students, specifically English Learners,
used on their own, and found that re-reading, reading slowly and carefully, or
visualizing information were reported most often (p. 13). Although these are useful
strategies, I hoped that after explicitly teaching annotation strategies, students would
annotate on their own. Within the walls of my own classroom, an inner city, lower level
sophomore English classroom, I decided I wanted to find out the effect on students
reading comprehension when students are given copies of a literary text they can own and
annotate.
After I decided on a question to pursue, I needed to examine the methods I could
use to put my study into action. For this, I turned to a variety of teacher researchers and

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literary theorists. I found that annotation falls under the umbrella of direct reading
comprehension instruction, and that although some of the authors did not specifically
discuss annotation, their findings on direct reading comprehension strategies and methods
were still useful to my study and research. I found methods that other teachers have
utilized in their classrooms when introducing annotation strategies to students. Brown
(2007) explains the methods used in his classroom in order to promote the use of
annotations by his students. First, he created a rubric, called a users guide, with his
students that explained what good annotations do, such as point to unfamiliar words or
make connections to other ideas or other texts (Brown, 2007, p. 74). Next, students
picked a passage from the chapter of a novel they were reading and were asked to type it
up and print it out as homework (Brown, 2007, p. 74). The next day, students came in and
were asked to annotate their text as a process, by first reading the text closely and then by
making marks according to the ideas or feelings they have while reading the paragraph
(Brown, 2007, p. 74). They could use the Users Guide as a starting point for their
marking, which was created by the class the day before. At the end of his unit, Brown
(2007) found his students were much more engaged and willing to participate than during
the previous unit (p. 76).
Another method used as a during-reading strategy that could be applied to
annotation is the use of logographic cues (Beers, 2002). Beers (2002) explains that using
logographic clues or a visual symbol, offers readers a high-utility message in a
minimum amount of space (p. 129). Since Brown found success in using a scaffolded
approach, I decided teacher led scaffolded instruction would be my best bet in making

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sure students understood new annotation strategies that included the use of logographic
cues and how to implement them.
To maximize the benefits of annotations in my study, I made sure to also use an
approach inspired by Vygotskys (1978) Theory of the Zone of Proximal development.
This meant focusing my study and instruction on the area of my students cognitive
ability which lies between what they can do by themselves and what they cannot do alone
(p. 32). The over arching goal was that students would be able to go from the teacherdirected method to using annotation strategies on their own and in their other classes. My
plan was to incorporate a study with methods similar to Brown (2007) in which I
introduced annotation techniques clearly and explicitly using a guide and by using a
scaffolded approach that would eventually lead students to being able to annotate on their
own. Kylene Beers (2002) recommended the use of logographic cues to help students
engage with the text. I also predicted that because my students are reluctant writers, that
they would find logographic cues appealing, since they do not require much writing, but
still allow for an interaction with the novel. Therefore, I incorporated logographic cues
into my annotation study so that students benefited from making concise yet meaningful
annotations.
With a definition and various methods in mind, it was time to determine what the
research says about the efficacy of annotation of a text. Teacher researcher PorterODonnell (2004) examined the use of annotations while reading a novel. She found that
when giving her high school students the chance to annotate their text, they became more
engaged and their participation rose. Specifically, in a reflection journal, one of her
students remarked, Annotating makes me understand better because I can look back and

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Im writing so it gets more in my head (p. 86). She also explained that, while annotating,
Readers give themselves the opportunity to become more aware of their thinking
process when they are active, and they consider and work to make sense of ideas that
they may not have been aware even existed when they read quickly (p. 87).
Zywica & Gomez (2008) studied a ninth grade science class where the teacher
gave direct instruction on annotation and found that students benefited from their use of
annotations. Students annotated science text results indicated their identification of main
ideas, science vocabulary, and transition words. The study found higher quantities of
annotations correlated with higher science achievement (Zwyica & Gomez, 2008, p.164).
Although not used in an English class, this still shows the achievements that can be made
from learning annotation skills and how learning annotation strategies in an English class
can be beneficial in other mainstream courses.
My research also led me to examine what researchers and teachers had to say
about how annotation of a literary text could affect comprehension. Porter- ODonnell
(2004) explained, Annotating helps readers reach a deeper level of engagement and
promotes active reading. It makes the readers dialogue with the text a visible record of
thoughts that emerge while making sense of the reading (p. 82). Within her classroom,
annotating was a key strategy used in getting learners to read and interact with the text.
Regarding the affects of writing when reading, Elbow (2004) explained, writing offers a
metacognitive understanding of the nature of the reading process (p. 12), alluding to
why annotation strategies, which incorporate a form of writing, are useful for
comprehension. Also, as Zywica & Gomez (2008) and Gutchewsky & Curran (2012)
found, teaching reading skills can help students across all curriculums and content areas.

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Researchers Keene and Zimmerman (2004) emphasized creating a studentcentered classroom in which the teacher is the facilitator of reading who models best
reading practices within their classroom, such as these direct reading comprehension
strategies (p. 22). A study of 119 students found that children who were placed in a direct
reading instruction program produced significantly higher gains than those not placed
within the program (Keene and Zeeman, 2007, p. 244). This was due to the explicit
teaching of reading strategies and emphasized the importance of utilizing during reading
strategies within the classroom. Crisp and Johnson (2005) noted a study done by
Anderson and Armbruster (1982) which lists a number of written support activities that
are commonly associated with reading, such as underlining, note taking, and outlining.
They suggest that these activities are concurrent with the actual reading processes and
influence the way that reading occurs and the way that meaning is processed (944).
Crisp & Johnson (2005) also noted that OHara and Sellen (1997) found evidence that
annotating whilst reading facilitated readers textual understanding, helping readers to
focus attention on important points, and to highlight the relationships between them (p.
944).
Once I found that theorist agreed that incorporating annotation strategies could
improve reading comprehension, I wanted to know specifically how annotation affects
students ability to analyze literature. Elbow (2004) explained how students are usually
taught the writing process, and that successful writers use a set of steps to get to their
written product (p.12). On the other hand, students are not often exposed to the fact that
reading is also a process (Elbow, 2004, p. 13). This leads them to become discouraged
when they do not understand the text on their first try (Elbow, 2004, 13). Instead, he

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explained that teachers should explicitly teach students strategies to become more
independent readers, and to understand that reading is a process in order to benefit their
reading comprehension (Elbow, 2004, p. 13). Elbow (2004) wrote, Students have a
harder time understanding that reading is just like writing: a process of cognitive (and
social) construction where everyone goes through a process of building up meanings
from cues in the text (p.13).
When I combined both reading and writing in my class by implementing
annotation strategies, I hoped to see that analysis of literature became easier and deeper
for students. Teacher researchers Gutchewsky & Joanne Curran (2012), put together a
study using a group of twenty-eight sixth through twelfth grade teachers to determine
useful during reading strategies. One of the strategies analyzed was note taking during a
novel unit. Overall, teachers found that writing while reading allowed the students to
access course content and material more closely and in an interactive fashion
(Gutchewsky & Curran, 2012, p. 2). Teachers also found that note taking strategies while
reading a text helped not only their lowest level readers, but also their most efficient
readers, leading them to understand that it would a best practice for learners at all
intellectual levels (Gutchewsky & Curran, 2012, p. 3). One teacher noted, The best
practices are all about depth slowing down, re-teaching, assessing, and adjusting next
steps (Gutchewsky & Curran, 2012, p. 4). Similarly, Beers and Probst (2012) explained
a strategy of note and notice that prompted active and engaged readers. Specifically,
they asked students to look for signposts, such as an Aha Moment! in a text, and then
to explain the signpost in their own words. By writing their noticings down, Beers and
Probst (2012) found that students were not only more engaged in reading, but started to

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become more independent readers. Beers (2002) also explained the importance of using
Post-It Notes and book marks while teaching literature as way to keep students
engaged in the material. Although not strictly annotations, they still serve a similar
purpose in having students make connections and pose questions in a text in which they
cannot write, resulting in more meaningful transaction with the text.
With the confirmation from various studies that annotation can improve
comprehension of a literary text, it was time to learn what means have been used by
professionals and researchers use to assess comprehension. As an intern at the high
school level, I came to realize that the English Language Arts Common Core Standards
reflect an emphasis on text dependent questions and ask students to identify key ideas,
read closely and cite specific evidence. According to Keene & Zimmerman (2007)
annotations promoted all of these activities. Direct comprehension reading instruction
gave students the chance to be alert, observant, responsive, responsible, self-reliant
readers (p. 4). In other words, instruction and formative or summative assessments
based upon the common core standards demonstrated evidence of comprehension growth.
Zwyica & Gomez (2008) used the Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) reading
comprehension test to analyze the usefulness of the annotations on their students
understanding of material. The DRP recorded growth in reading achievement based on a
time period between October and and May (Zwyica & Gomez, 2008, p. 264).
Once I discovered the various assessments tools used by researchers and teachers,
I focused on the various data collection methods that exist to analyze annotation
strategies. Data collection tools used by Keene & Zimmerman (2007) included listening
in on discussions in class and recording observations (p. 24). Keene and Zimmerman

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(2007) explained that Listening to students, thinking carefully about their comments,
and then evaluating what those comments tell us was an important data collection tool
(p. 25). Hartz (2010) researched the use of pre, during, and post reading strategies and
their effect on reading comprehension. Her research used reflective notes (observations),
surveys, and analysis of exam grades to measure student reading comprehension and
engagement. Her results found that students enjoyed reading more and had higher test
scores after the implementation of the pre, during, and post-reading strategies (p. 14).
In order to maintain the triangulation model for research, I measured my students
perception of the usefulness of annotation before and after my study. Throughout my
research, I have found that allowing students to write in their text gives them the
opportunity to slow their reading and engage with the text (Brown 2007). It also gave
them the chance to record their answers so they can recollect their thoughts and analyze
them (Porter- ODonnell, 2004) A high school student in Porter-ODonnells (2004) class
explained her reaction towards annotation in a reflection journal. She wrote, Annotating
basically helps me comprehend and focus easier when I am reading. I used to get
distracted easily which would cause me to read something over and over so that I can
completely understand. I have found reading a lot easier for me and more enjoyable (p.
87). In Beers (2002) text, regarding the use of use post-it notes, a student remarked, All
this thinking is really the whole point of reading. I mean, if you arent thinking, you
arent reading it (p. 137). With these student perceptions in mind, I decided using
surveys including Likert scales would be useful in my study because they could be easily
quantified yet still provide the ability to record anonymous attitudes and perceptions
regarding direct instruction and application of annotation strategies.

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Although my study presented potential benefits regarding comprehension and
motivation, while doing my research I discovered challenges I may have faced and
should have been aware of before I began my study. For example, while incorporating
annotation techniques in the classroom, Zwyica & Gomez (2008) found one challenge to
be the inability to access resources needed to annotate, such as enough textbook copies.
For this reason, I chose to photocopy the text so that each student had his/her own copy.
Zwyica & Gomez also noted that students can become frustrated when introducing new
literary strategies. Thus, I introduced my annotation strategy slowly and with explicit
guidance while first reading the novel. Another possible challenge that could come with
teaching annotation strategies was exemplified by a study by Peterson (1991), who found
that without guidance, students often did not benefit from simply underlining or
highlighting. Instead, underlining could cause confusion or distraction Peterson (1991).
Therefore, I gave explicit instruction and constant feedback while using annotation as a
during-reading strategy in my study.
With the above research in mind, I conducted a study that explored how the use of
explicitly taught annotation strategies on a literary text affected reading comprehension.
During this study, students read the novel Tears of a Tiger. I began by making copies of
this text so that students could begin to learn how to annotate their text. I modeled
scaffold annotations and logographic cues based on a guide I handed out to students and
was inspired by the research I did. I measured comprehension with short comprehension
quizzes based on the common core standards. I also tracked data by using a teacher log
for observations of student motivation and behavior, in addition to analyzing the quality

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and quantity of student annotations. In order to measure student attitude and perception
regarding annotation, I administered an anonymous survey.
Overall, I was eager to find if students found having copies of the text to write on
and annotate beneficial to their reading comprehension. I hoped that by explicitly
teaching a transferrable comprehension strategy, students would move more quickly from
dependent to independent readers because their transactions with the text became more
meaningful.

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References
Beers, K. (2002). When Kids Can't Read: What Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers
6-12. Portsmouth, NH: Hienmann.
Beers, K. & Probst, R (2012). Notice and Note: Strategies for Close Reading.
Portsmouth, NH: Hienmann.
Brown, M. (2007). Ill Have Mine Annotated, Please: Helping Students Make
Connections with Texts. The English Journal, 96(4), 73-78.
Crisp, V. & Johnson, M. (2007). The Use of Annotations in Examination Marking:
Opening a Window into Markers Minds. British Educational Research Journal.
33(6), 943-961.
Elbow, P. (2004). Write First: Putting Writing Before Reading is an Effective Approach
to Teaching and Learning. Educational Leadership. 62 (2), 8-14.
Hartz, N. (2010). Increasing Student Comprehension, Motivation, and Personal
Connections Through the use of Pre, During, and Post-Reading Strategies. 1-36.
Retrieved from: eportfolios.ithaca.edu/nhartz1/docs/ActionResearch.doc
Hong-Nam, K. (2014). ELL High School Students Metacognitive Awareness of Reading
Strategy Use and Reading Proficiency. TESL-EJ, 18(1), 1-15.
Keene, E. & Zimmerman, S. (2007). Mosaic of Thought, Second Edition: The Power of
Comprehension Strategy Instruction. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
ODonnel-Porter, C. (2004). Beyond the Yellow Highlighter: Teaching Annotation Skills
to Improve Reading Comprehension .The English Journal, 93(5), 82-89.
Peterson, S. E. (1992). The cognitive functions of underlining as a study
technique. Reading Research and Instruction, 31(2), 49-56.
Rosenblatt, L. (1988). Reading and Writing: The Transactional Theory. National Center
for the Study of Writing and Literacy. 1-16.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
Zywica, J. & Gomez, K. (2008). Annotating to Support Learning in the Content Areas:
Teaching Learning in Science. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 52(2),
155-164.