April 29, 2026
Contributing Author: Dr. Marisa Rivas
In Dr. Douglas Reeves’ 90/90/90 research, one practice consistently emerged in high-performing, high-poverty schools: frequent, purposeful nonfiction writing. When students regularly engage in nonfiction writing, their performance improves not only in writing but also across subjects like reading, math, and science. Writing is not an isolated skill. It is central to learning.
Yet in many classrooms, students are asked to read one or more texts and then immediately respond to a writing prompt. Instruction often jumps from reading to brainstorming or completing a graphic organizer. When students have not had the opportunity to interact with and grapple with the text, they struggle to generate ideas, identify evidence, and produce meaningful written responses.
One high-leverage way to strengthen this bridge is through intentional text annotation.
As Joan Sedita explains in The Writing Rope, annotation is “reading with a pencil.” Students should be ready to write, underline, and highlight as they read. Annotation makes thinking visible and supports deeper comprehension.
While many classrooms use annotation protocols (e.g., stars, question marks, underlining), the symbols themselves matter less than the thinking behind them. In a recent site visit, a TK–6 leadership team shared that PLCs were struggling to agree on consistent symbols. This surfaced a key insight: the goal is not uniformity in symbols, but clarity in purpose. What matters most is that students consistently identify main ideas, key details, and areas of confusion.
To support annotation as a pathway to writing:
- Focus on “look-fors,” not symbols (main idea, evidence, vocabulary, questions)
- Align annotation to the writing task (e.g., evidence for ACE/RACE)
- Model annotation explicitly through think-alouds
- Revisit annotations during writing to ground responses in the text
-
Use annotation as evidence in PLC conversations about student thinking
When students annotate with purpose, comprehension improves, and writing becomes more accessible.
Citations
Creative Leadership Solutions. (2025). Fearless Instruction: High-Impact Strategies Inspired by 90/90/90 Schools.
Sedita, J. (2023). The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects. Paul H. Brookes Publishing.
