Interacting with Books Using Sticky Notes

Reading is more than just being able to call words.  One must also understand what he is reading.  Interacting with books is an effective way to make meaning out of what one reads.  One example of such interactivity with books is the strategy of using sticky notes while reading.  Sticky notes can be used when reading both fiction and non-fiction texts.  Students can use sticky notes when reading fiction stories to mark places in the text that they found interesting or exciting.  They can also be used to mark connections that students make and questions they may have about that page.  When reading expository texts, sticky notes are an excellent way to have students add to what they are reading by creating diagrams, asking questions, or marking a passage or fact that they want to share with others.

I came across an online version of note-taking on ReadWriteThink.org.  This interactive tool allows students to organize their thoughts and notes while reading.  I also discovered an informative website created by the Virginia Department of Education in which they provide videos of effective reading strategies being implemented.  The sticky-note strategy is among their examples.

According to Stephanie Harvey & Anne Goudvis (2007), "active literacy requires readers to merge their thinking with information.  Annotating in the margins and jotting thinking on sticky notes gives readers a place to hold their thinking and work through it as well" (p. 55).  Harvey & Goudvis also noted that sticky notes provide an easy, accessible way to monitor their comprehension and leave a record of understanding what they're reading.

Researching this topic reminded me of the importance of interacting with books.  I will take this renewed enthusiasm and knowledge and immediately apply it in my classroom.  I will ask my students to use sticky notes during their independent reading time and will allow them to share with their classmates what they learned, found interesting, had questions about, or connected to during their reading.

Interacting with books is important for readers' comprehension of texts.  Using sticky notes ensures that students are connecting with what they are reading instead of just passively experiencing books.

Harvey, S., Goudvis, A. (2007). Strategies that work.  Portland, Maine: Stenhouse Publishers.