Mark Up the Text/Comprehension Codes


Back to
40 Best-practices
Instructional Strategies
Procedures: Invite students to “mark up the text” as they read a selection by circling unfamiliar words, highlighting/underlining key ideas, and writing notes and questions. Margin notes made by readers include: questions, predictions, connections, key ideas, and discoveries. Encourages students to create their own Comprehension Codes for types of responses, such as “PCs” for personal connections or “D” for discoveries.

Examples: Develop a chart of “Mark Up the Text” Comprehension Codes to model those kids can use for reading selections: MI = Main Idea, V = Vocabulary, PR = Prediction, PC = Personal Connections, D = Discoveries, A = Answer to Challenge Question (or any specific question), R? = Research Question, etc.

Variations: Use overhead transparencies of nonfiction selections to model this reading strategy. “Think Aloud” as you are “marking up the text” to demonstrate how readers use the strategy to read and remember. Encourage students to share how this strategy helped them read and remember information presented in an article.

Reading Strategies: Identify Main Ideas and Details, Build Vocabulary, Monitor Level of Comprehension, Make Connections, Generate Questions, Make Inferences, Draw Conclusions, Identify Generalizations, Identify Writing Strategies