Name: Date: Block:

Annotation Guide for History Class

One of the best ways to improve your reading and to prepare for class discussion is to annotate
your reading. Annotation is the marking up of text. Have a conversation with your text!

Throughout the year you will need to annotate readings for both English and history. It is
important to understand the differences between these two kinds of annotations. Annotating for
both history and English will help you engage with the material and prepare for class discussions,
however you will focus on different things in your annotations. Your annotations will also make
studying easier because you will have underlined and noted important ideas.

These are the expectations for how you should annotate a reading for History this year.

Addressing the Focus Questions:

Read the focus question before you read the rest of the text. This will help guide the rest of your
annotation and solidify the major ideas.

Addressing the Unknown:

Define Unfamiliar Words (Def): Identify, box, and define unfamiliar words.

Challenging Passages (CP): Underline or bracket a particularly challenging or unclear passage.
Paraphrase what you think it means above/next to the actual words in the text.

Questions (?): What is confusing? What dont you get? Why not?

Making Meaning

Meaning and Purpose (M&P):
What is the main idea of each paragraph?
Make note of where the text addresses the focus questions
Mark surprises (!) or moods/emotions/your reactions (); sketch out places described or
map relationships and family trees; color-code your types of annotations.

Making Connections:
Connections (C):
Does this remind you of something we discussed in class?
Does this remind you of something that happened in your life?
Does this remind you of something that you have already studied?
How does this connect to the essential question/s of the unit or the year?

Responding to the Focus Question

You should answer the question that comes at the end of the reading, whether it is a prediction,
summary, or connection. Your response should include evidence from the reading.