How to annotate your textbook

Summary

The video script is a tutorial on how to annotate a book effectively for educational purposes. It emphasizes the importance of highlighting key details, noting personal experiences of the author, and marking statistics that stand out. The instructor suggests using different colors for various types of annotations, such as names, vocabulary, and historical references. For those with e-books or rented books, post-it notes and tabs are recommended instead of direct markings. The script also encourages looking up unfamiliar terms and creating flashcards for future reference, promoting active reading and the use of a dictionary for a deeper understanding of the material.

Takeaways

• 😀 The instructor demonstrates how to annotate a book, specifically Jonathan Kozol's chapter, to enhance reading comprehension and retention.
• 🔍 For those with e-books or rented books, using post-it tabs is recommended to mark important sections without damaging the book.
• 🖊️ Writing key terms like 'Kozol' on post-it tabs helps quickly locate sections, emphasizing the importance of personal annotation.
• 📚 The instructor highlights the significance of noting personal experiences of the author, such as Kozol's teaching background, to understand the context of the article.
• 📈 Emphasizing statistics within the text, like the demographic breakdown of public school enrollment, is crucial for grasping the article's message on educational inequities.
• ✏️ The script advises using the margins to write reasons for highlighting, which aids in critical thinking and active reading.
• 🏛️ The video mentions the importance of familiarizing oneself with historical references like 'Brown versus Board of Education' and notable figures like Thurgood Marshall.
• 📖 The instructor suggests using flashcards for unfamiliar terms, court cases, and names, which can be color-coded and filed for future reference.
• 🌈 Color-coding is encouraged for different types of annotations, such as important details, names, and vocabulary, to organize thoughts and enhance recall.
• 📚 Having a dictionary and other reference materials at hand while reading is stressed for immediate lookup of unfamiliar words and concepts.
• 📚 The video concludes with a reminder of the importance of having a dedicated place and time for studying, along with all necessary materials for effective annotation.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video?

The main topic of the video is teaching students how to annotate a book effectively, focusing on Jonathan Kozol's chapter in a book, starting on page 170.

What is the first step the instructor suggests for annotating a book?

The first step suggested by the instructor is to get to the specified page number, in this case, page 170, and to have the necessary materials ready, such as a pen and post-it tabs.

Why does the instructor recommend using post-it tabs?

The instructor recommends using post-it tabs to mark pages and write the author's name or key terms on them for quick reference, which is especially useful if you don't want to write directly in the book.

What is the significance of Jonathan Kozol's background mentioned on page 170?

Jonathan Kozol's background is significant because it provides context about his personal experience with the subject matter of inequities in education, which is the focus of the article.

How does the instructor suggest highlighting important details in the text?

The instructor suggests not only highlighting the text but also writing a brief explanation on a post-it note or in the side margin about why the detail is important.

What does the instructor recommend doing when encountering unfamiliar historical references?

When encountering unfamiliar historical references, the instructor recommends making flashcards with the term and researching more about it to gain familiarity.

What color coding system does the instructor use for highlighting?

The instructor uses a color-coding system where different colors represent different types of highlights: one color for interesting information, another for names and court cases, and yet another for vocabulary words they don't know.

Why is it important to look up words you don't know while reading?

Looking up words you don't know while reading is important to build vocabulary and ensure comprehension of the text. The instructor suggests using a dictionary and making flashcards for future reference.

What does the instructor suggest for organizing flashcards for future reference?

The instructor suggests keeping flashcards in a box and organizing them alphabetically or by category, such as names, places, or vocabulary, for easy retrieval and review.

What is the purpose of annotation as discussed in the video?

The purpose of annotation, as discussed in the video, is to engage actively with the text, enhance understanding, and facilitate recall of important information by marking, highlighting, and noting key points, terms, and concepts.

How does the instructor plan to follow up on the annotation lesson?

The instructor plans to follow up the annotation lesson with discussion and practice exercises, and may ask students to share screenshots of their annotations for review.

Outlines

00:00

📚 Annotating Books and Using Post-Its

The speaker introduces the topic of annotating books, specifically focusing on Jonathan Kozol's chapter starting on page 170. They demonstrate how to use post-it tabs for marking pages and suggest writing the author's name on the tab for quick reference. The speaker emphasizes the importance of noting personal experiences and statistics related to the subject matter within the margins of the book or on post-its. They also highlight the significance of the author's background and the relevance of education inequities discussed in the text.

05:01

🖍️ Color-Coding Annotations and Flashcards

The speaker discusses the strategy of using different colors for various types of annotations, such as important details, names of people, and vocabulary words. They explain how to use highlighters and post-its to mark these different aspects and create flashcards for unfamiliar terms or historical references. The speaker also suggests looking up terms and conducting additional research to enhance understanding. They recommend keeping flashcards in a box for future reference and periodic review.

10:03

📖 The Importance of Active Reading and Organization

The speaker emphasizes the importance of being an active reader, looking up words, and having a dictionary handy while reading. They discuss the significance of having a dedicated study space and time, and having all necessary materials, including multiple dictionaries and a thesaurus, readily available. The speaker also talks about the benefits of using a file box to organize flashcards and suggests using color coordination or tabs for easy reference. They conclude by mentioning upcoming discussions on annotation and the importance of practicing these skills.

Keywords

💡Annotating

Annotating refers to the process of making notes, highlighting, or adding comments in the margins of a text to help understand, analyze, or remember it better. In the video, the instructor demonstrates how to annotate a book by using different colors for highlighting and writing notes in the margins or on post-its. This is crucial for active reading and retaining information from the text, as seen when the instructor annotates 'experience' in the margin to highlight Kozol's background.

💡Post-it Tabs

Post-it Tabs are adhesive markers used to mark pages or sections of a book for easy reference. The video suggests using Post-it Tabs to label sections of the book, such as writing 'Kozol' on a tab to quickly find the relevant chapter. This method is particularly useful for readers who do not want to write directly in their books, as it allows for organization without causing permanent marks.

💡Highlighting

Highlighting is a technique used to emphasize important points or details in a text by using a brightly colored marker. The script mentions highlighting statistics about public school enrollment to emphasize the racial disparities discussed by Kozol. This visual cue helps readers to quickly identify key data points and understand the author's argument regarding educational inequities.

💡Flashcards

Flashcards are small cards used for memorization, typically with a term on one side and related information on the other. The video script describes using flashcards to record unfamiliar terms, historical figures, or court cases encountered in the text. For example, the instructor suggests making a flashcard for 'Brown versus Board of Education' and looking up more information about it, which aids in building vocabulary and historical context.

💡Vocabulary Building

Vocabulary building involves expanding one's knowledge of words and their meanings, which is essential for comprehension and communication. In the script, the instructor uses different colored highlighters for unknown vocabulary words, such as 'reluctance,' and then creates flashcards to define and explore these terms. This practice not only aids in understanding the text but also enriches the reader's overall vocabulary.

💡Active Reading

Active reading is a reading strategy that involves engaging with the text by asking questions, summarizing, and making connections. The video emphasizes the importance of active reading by showing how to interact with the text through annotations, highlighting, and the creation of flashcards. This approach is exemplified by the instructor's detailed examination of Kozol's chapter, where they actively seek to understand and remember the content.

💡Color Coding

Color coding is a system of organizing information using different colors to represent different categories or types of data. In the context of the video, color coding is used to differentiate between various types of annotations: one color for general highlights, another for names of people, and yet another for vocabulary words. This method helps the reader to quickly identify and recall the significance of each annotated section, as seen when the instructor uses orange for names and another color for vocabulary.

💡Educational Inequities

Educational inequities refer to the disparities in educational opportunities and resources among different groups of students. The video script discusses Kozol's focus on these inequities, particularly in terms of racial and socioeconomic differences. The instructor highlights statistics about school enrollment to emphasize this point, showing how the annotation process can help readers engage with and understand complex social issues.

💡Historical Context

Historical context provides the background information necessary to understand events, ideas, or references within a text. The script mentions 'Brown versus Board of Education' and Thurgood Marshall, which are significant in the history of civil rights and education in the United States. By annotating and researching these references, the reader can better understand the historical backdrop against which Kozol's observations are made.

💡Personal Experience

Personal experience refers to an individual's direct encounters or involvement in events or situations. In the video, the instructor notes Kozol's personal experience teaching in an inner-city school as a crucial detail, which informs his perspective on educational inequities. This keyword is highlighted to show how the author's background can shape the narrative and arguments presented in the text.

💡Dictionary

A dictionary is a reference book containing an alphabetical list of words with their meanings, etymologies, and other information. The video script stresses the importance of having a dictionary handy while reading to look up unfamiliar words, such as 'reluctance.' This tool is essential for enhancing vocabulary and ensuring a deeper understanding of the text, as demonstrated by the instructor's recommendation to use a dictionary for every reading session.

Highlights

Introduction to annotating a book with practical tips

Using post-it tabs for quick reference and marking articles

Writing the author's name on post-its for easy location of sections

Highlighting personal experiences of the author in the margins

Noting important details such as statistics within the text

Using post-its to explain why certain information is highlighted

Looking for unfamiliar historical information to research further

Creating flashcards for unfamiliar terms or historical references

Using different highlighter colors for names, places, and vocabulary

Color-coding reading materials for better organization

Using flashcards to build vocabulary and understanding of new terms

Storing flashcards in a box for easy access and review

Importance of having a dictionary and other reference materials nearby

Setting up a study space with all necessary materials for effective annotation

The significance of being an active reader and annotating while reading

Upcoming discussion and exercises on annotation techniques

Encouragement to use different color pens and highlighters for annotation

Conclusion and summary of the importance of annotation in the learning process

Transcripts

hi class I'm going to show you some

skills and how to go about annotating

your book and also what you're going to

need to do so I'm going to take a

chapter put my glasses on in the book

Jonathan cosel's chapter which starts on

page 170 separate-but-equal and I'm

going to go over what you need to do to

annotate your book so we're gonna

actually I'm gonna actually do this with

you and we're gonna do this together so

what we're gonna do is so please be on

page 170 so if you have the e-book you

don't have to do everything that we're

doing now if you rented a book and you

don't want to write in the book then

what I suggest is that you use these

post-its only so one of the things that

I suggest that you do is to get the

post-it tabs and to put the post-it taps

on the side of the page and it's really

a good idea to mark like you could write

Cosel this way you can find the article

really really really fast so I would

just get a pen and I would take my pen

and I would write kozol right here like

this like that I wrote kozol and I put

it in the side tab here and so when I'm

looking for the article sorry to keep

hitting my face I'm looking for the

article I find it now before the actual

article starts so the actual article

starts on page 171 but before there's a

little history about Jonathan Kozol

and I actually posted a video about him

and last week's module in module number

one but it's a really good idea to go

through that history and

things that that stand out for you so

for me on page 170 on the second

paragraph it says after graduating from

Harvard with a degree in literature and

studying as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford

University

Kozel born in 90 1936 took his first job

teaching in an inner city elementary

school near Boston okay so this is an

important detail about him and what the

article is about because the articles

about inequities and it's about

inequities in education and what he sees

and his video also talked about it but

the most important thing about this is

that he has personal experience with the

subject matter so this is something

really important to note and I would put

in the side margin here experience like

this so I wrote this with my pen

experience now if you don't want to

write actually in the book you could

take a post-it and write it on a post-it

like this okay so the article starts and

and what I like to do is I like to look

at really important details and if you

look here in the second paragraph it

says in Chicago by the academic year

2002 to 2003 87 percent of public school

enrollment was black or Hispanic less

than 10 percent of children in the

schools were white so this is a really

important detail to highlight here

because it gives some statistics so I

highlighted here in the middle of my

page and it's not just enough to put a

highlight there so what you can do is

you can use a post-it to explain why you

think it's important so I'll say the

numbers

and the difference is makes makes it

makes a point like that so you could

either put it on a post-it or you could

put it you could write it in the side

margins of the book right here so it's

not just enough to put a highlight it

you need to actually write some reason

why you're highlighting and making a

note now if you have the e-book these

little post-its and these highlighters

are just there they're embedded in your

ebook and it's really fun and easy but

if you have a book like this you have to

highlight it now also when I'm reading

I'm also looking for words that come up

that and historical information that

comes up that I may not be familiar work

with so here on page 172 at the top it

says that the first paragraph one of the

most disheartening experience for those

who grew up in the years when Martin

Luther King jr. and Thoreau Gore

Marshall were alive is to visit public

schools today the bear that bear their

names or names temporarily progress that

took place in three decades after Brown

versus edge of Education so if you've

never heard of Brown versus Board of

Education this is something that you

would put on a flashcard because this

actually

sorry I can't talk in this is something

that if you don't if you're not familiar

with it and even though the bottom

margin talks a little bit about it you

could actually make a flashcard of Brown

versus Board of Education the bottom

mark of the margins talks about the

court ruling but you could also do some

more research on it to get some more

familiarity with it so you can copy what

it says down here and also Thoreau

Thurgood Marshall if you've never heard

of him you could actually make another

flashcard of him and copy what it says

at the bottom but this is not enough you

might want to check a YouTube or you

might want to do some research to get

better familiarity with the article and

what it's saying so names like this if

you've never heard of them these are

things that I would highlight and I use

a different highlighter for names of

people so I would use orange for the

names of people and Thorogood Marshall

and of court cases or names of anything

I would use orange like this and then

make flashcards and look up the

information more to give you more

details of what it is that you're doing

ok so this is an important feature ok

another thing is if I come across

vocabulary words that I don't know so I

would use a different highlighter for a

vocabulary word I don't know so on page

173 at the top if I look at the word

reluctance okay let's say I didn't know

what the word reluctance meant okay I

would put a different color highlighter

for vocabulary words I don't know and

this you know I would use a different

color flashcard so here I would use the

look at the word reluctance

and I would write it down like this and

use the dictionary to look up the word

and put the definition in the back and

all the details of the word in the back

of the flashcard so these are the things

that I'm going to have you do

and so you could color code your reading

so that you have marked highlights of

interesting information in one color

marked highlights of names and people in

a different color and marked highlights

of vocabulary words in a different color

you could as some people use the same

colors over and over again and some

people like to use a color key and also

if you don't have your own book and you

don't want to actually highlight the

book what you can do is get different

color post-its so instead of just

getting one color of pink you can get

blue and or orange or different or green

or different color post-its and instead

of actually highlighting the book you

can just put post-its in there but still

use these flashcards because what you

want to do is you want to build your

vocabulary as you're reading so if you

if you make flashcards along the way you

can keep these flashcards for further

future reference so what I like to do

when I'm through with a class is I've

made these highlights I like to keep my

flashcards in a flashcard box like this

and keep them in here and just

periodically go through them and maybe

you come across the Brown versus Board

of Education in another class later on

in another semester but you forgot it so

if you have a little box like this and

you keep all your flashcards in there

you can say oh well let me look and you

could put them in alphabetical order go

find the research that you've already

done and then it's right here at your

fingertips it could be a word

so any vocabulary words that you come up

with like reluctance if you forget what

you've heard the word but you forgot it

well you have it in a little box next to

you like this and so you can keep track

of it so I suggest um you know

vocabulary words to be one color names

of people in another color or court

cases you could use another if you read

about places like locations of places

you could use another flashcard of

locations of places so that when you

file them in your box you have them in

some sort of order and you know what it

is you could just use all white

flashcards if you want and and

distinguish them differently but there

are file boxes that have you know these

file boxes are really good if you want

to the taps with alphabetical order I

actually kind of just would just do

something like this and put a tab on top

of here and as the first tab and I would

just put names of people or names of

places and then put them in alphabetical

order so you can kind of make your own

tabs with these little post-it tabs for

your file box as well so being an active

reader is really important looking up

words is really important having a

dictionary next to you is extremely

important because you want to make sure

that you look up the words as you're

reading having all your necessary

materials so in my in my previous video

I talked about finding your place and

your time so your place would be your

desk or wherever it is that you study

and having your materials nearby is

really important in addition to my

American Heritage Dictionary

I also have another dictionary set next

to me where I have a thesaurus and

vocabulary builder and a second

dictionary if I want to look up the word

in another dictionary so I have this in

my office at home on my desk and this is

my office at home

sitting on my desk and I have all my

necessary information with me and these

this file box is always by me by my side

so when I'm studying and I'm reading and

I'm looking I'm coming up across the

word I may have already known what the

word is so this is a really good

reference for you to use that's why I

say your time in place is really

important if you're more mobile person

you might want to put everything in a

backpack and have it readily available

in a backpack but annotation is really

important I'm going to give you a

discussion about annotation after this

video and the dictionary and talking

about your own annotations eventually

you're going to take screenshots of your

annotations and send them and show them

to me but an important part of your

education process is to annotate and to

annotate your reading and having a pen

next to you I like to have different

color pens I'd like to have different

color highlighters I like them all to be

different colors I'm really into color

coordination if you're not into color

coordination you don't have to be but

it's just a really good feature to have

so we're gonna practice I'm going to

give you some practice exercises with

annotation coming up after this video

and in the dictionary video so I do have

a dictionary video after this that you

can look at as well we're going to talk

about the dictionary and the importance

of using a dictionary and having it by

your side while you're reading to

prepare you for all the reading that

you're doing all right bye