Card

Why-Lighting

Students highlight sentences or passages that seem important to their understanding of a text, then reflect on the thinking process that led to their choice of highlights.

Why-Lighting

Summary

Students highlight a text, and they then explain why they highlighted what they did in the margins of the document. Once all students are done, they discuss their highlights and reasoning in small groups or in a whole-class discussion. This discussion provides them with the opportunity to address the text in a different way and to notice the importance of passages that they, personally, might not have highlighted.

Procedure

Students read through a text, highlighting passages they deem important to their understanding of the text as they go.
Students write why they highlighted a passage in the margins next to each highlighted passage.
In small or large group discussion, students discuss the passages they chose and why they chose them.