Lesson Theme: Special text. Railway System in Uzbekistan

Lesson 8. Theme: Instructions of writing an annotation. (introduction, main body, conclusion)
Annotating a text means that you take notes in the margins and make other markings for reading comprehension. Many people use annotation as part of academic research or to further their understanding of a certain work. To annotate an article, you'll need to ask questions as you go through the text, focus on themes, circle terms you don't understand, and write your opinions on the text's claims. Annotating requires students to think critically about a text. Writing an annotation is different than taking notes. Annotation involves writing in the book, engaging the author in conversation, questioning, and clarifying main points. The following supplies make the exercise run much more smoothly:

1. 
   Post-it Notes: If the book belongs to a school, library, or someone else, use Post-it notes.
   
2. 
   Highlighter: Yellow works best. Underlining, circling, and stars become laborious and sloppy. Yellow highlighters emphasize without distracting.
   
3. 
   Pencil: Write notes in the margins. Pencil is easy to erase. If you write something really stupid in pen, it will be there for years, reminding you just how stupid you used to be.
   
4. 
   A Book: This is obvious.
   

Instructions

1. 
   As you read highlight key information.
   
2. 
   As you read take marginal notes. These notes can include stars, check marks, phrases, questions, question marks, words, etc.
   
3. 
   Keep a list of key information with page numbers on the front cover (Students will need guidance on what constitutes key information, which depends on genre, purpose, and reading level.).
   
4. 
   Write a brief summary at the end of each chapter or section.
   
5. 
   Write an alternative title for each chapter or section.
   
6. 
   List vocabulary words on the back cover.
   

Assessment
Assessing annotations, if done improperly, bogs down even the most efficient teachers. I recommend spot checking certain pages and assessing just those pages. The grade could be based on quantity and quality of information, chapter summaries, or listing of key information.