The document provides samples of 3 student annotations of an article along with the teacher's ratings and comments on each student. Adam received a rating of 5 and his annotations included many comments on everything he highlighted as well as analytical comments and questions. Hayley also received a 5 and included analytical questions though not as many comments as Adam. Quinn received a 4 as her comments responded to the text but she left out why one part was negative and did not annotate part of the article.

1. During the early part of the school year, I just grade the students’ annotations in the Article of
the Week. I rate them on a scale of 5 (excellent) to 1 (poor). I’m including 3 student samples
below for you to see. Later on in the school year, I’ll also grade their paragraph responses to the
article.
Adam: 5
Above and beyond expectations: 8 comments on the first page alone
Perhaps too much use of the highlighter, but he comments on everything he highlights
Includes lots of statements, questions, and even a few outbursts like “You ought to
always do that!”
Notes his sarcasm with *asterisks*
Knows about Finland’s education system, which is not required, but a good connection
nonetheless
While some of his annotations are very basic like “Hmmm…sounds fun,” he has many
analytical comments like “We would rather have kids who are ready not ones who drop
out.”
Adam is very quiet in class. He rarely raises his hand during discussions, but he is
clearly engaged with this article, and I can see his personality.
Hayley: 5
Includes many analytical questions like “How will we afford the technology?” and “Who
decides what matters more?”
Does not use a highlighter, but does star important parts and does underline
She questions the power of David Coleman
She does not have nearly as many comments as Adam, but this is enough to merit a 5 for
the first Article of the Week. I will expect more out of her as the year progresses.
Hayley is new to our district this year. She participates in class, but she is not
outspoken. Her sharp mind is evident in her annotations though.
Quinn: 4
Her comments are responses to the text, not just summaries. She writes things like,
“Obviously the SAT isn’t as good if it keeps trying to be more like ACT” and “
When she writes, “thats [sic] a negative,” she leaves out why it’s negative
Like Adam, she highlights phrases and sentences and then annotates them
She doesn’t annotate anything on the bottom of the 2nd
page and the top of the 3rd
page
Quinn is fairly outgoing in class, and she had to turn in her article a day early
because she was going to be gone on Friday for volleyball. Her comments are well
done, but she needs a few more. It seems like she skipped the third quarter of the
article.
Jason Stephenson
Stephenson.jason@gmail.com | Twitter: teacherman82 | blog: dcjason.wordpress.com