How to annotate the layers of a text using Scrible
By engaging in this layered annotation process, students improve their reading and analytical skills and also gain a comprehensive understanding of how different elements of a text work together to create meaning, enhancing their overall literacy and critical thinking abilities. Students will select a passage and use Scrible to annotate it in layers, focusing on different elements with each pass. For example, the first layer could focus on vocabulary and language, the second on sentence structure and syntax, and the third on thematic elements and rhetorical devices
Objective: Students will enhance their reading comprehension and analytical skills by annotating a text in layers, focusing on different elements in each pass.
Learning Outcome: Students will be able to identify and analyze various aspects of a text, including vocabulary, sentence structure, and thematic elements, improving their critical reading skills.
Layer 1 - Vocabulary and Language
Rationale: Understanding vocabulary and language nuances is foundational to text comprehension. By focusing on this layer, students develop critical reading skills, expand their vocabulary, and appreciate authors' nuanced choices to convey their message. This activity also encourages students to engage actively with the text, moving beyond a superficial reading to a more in-depth exploration of the language used.
Activity:
Students will scan the text for words or phrases that are unfamiliar, challenging, or particularly striking.
Using Scrible, students will highlight these words or phrases and add annotations. In these annotations, they should define the word, explore its connotations, and consider why the author might have chosen this particular language.
Encourage students to look up definitions and consider the context to infer meanings, noting any usage nuances impacting the text's interpretation.
Layer 2 - Sentence Structure and Syntax
Rationale: This layer encourages students to delve into writing mechanics, fostering an understanding of how syntax and structure influence a text's clarity, flow, and impact. By examining sentence structures, students learn to appreciate the author's craft and how it serves the text's purpose, enhancing their analytical and writing skills.
Activity:
Students will identify various sentence structures within the text (e.g., simple, compound, complex, compound-complex) and highlight them using different colors or annotations in Scrible.
They will analyze how the sentence structure affects the text's readability, tone, and emphasis. For example, a short, fragmented sentence might create tension or urgency, while a longer, complex sentence could be used to elaborate on a point or add detail.
Students should annotate their observations and reflections on how these structures contribute to the overall meaning or effectiveness of the text.
Layer 3 - Thematic Elements and Rhetorical Devices
Rationale: This layer moves students beyond the surface-level reading, encouraging them to interpret and analyze the text's deeper meanings and the techniques authors use to engage readers and convey messages. Understanding thematic elements and rhetorical devices enriches students' reading experience, enabling them to interact with texts more sophisticatedly and develop a nuanced appreciation for literary and non-literary works.
Activity:
In this layer, students identify and interpret thematic elements (like motifs, messages, or central ideas) and rhetorical devices (such as metaphors, similes, alliteration, etc.).
Using Scrible, students will highlight these elements and devices, annotating them with their thoughts on how they contribute to the text's overall message or effectiveness. For instance, how does a metaphor deepen the reader's understanding of a concept, or how does a recurring motif reinforce the text's theme?
Encourage students to connect these elements and devices to the larger message of the text, considering how they enhance the author's argument or narrative.
Standards Alignment:
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.5: Analyze in detail how an author's ideas or claims are developed and refined by particular sentences, paragraphs, or larger portions of a text.
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including words with multiple meanings or language that is particularly fresh, engaging, or beautiful. (Include Shakespeare as well as other authors.)
- CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.5: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
*If your school or district references standards other than Common Core for writing, please reach out, and our team can provide the Scrible standard alignment for your set of standards.