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Grades 6–8 · A printable two-sided bookmark with five close-reading marks.
A printable bookmark with five symbols students can use while annotating any text. Cut along the outer border, fold on the center line, and drop it in any book — students put a mark in the margin, then bring the marks to the close-read discussion.
Side A
The Five Marks
!Surprisesomething I didn’t expect
?Questionsomething I want to know more about
★Claimthe writer’s main point or argument
>Evidencea piece of support for a claim
↔Linkthis connects to something else — earlier in the text, another text, my own life
Side B
How to Use
Re-read once for gist.
Re-read a second time with this bookmark.
Bring your marks to the close-read discussion.
The Five Marks
!Surprisesomething I didn’t expect
?Questionsomething I want to know more about
★Claimthe writer’s main point or argument
>Evidencea piece of support for a claim
↔Linkthis connects to something else — earlier in the text, another text, my own life
How to use this bookmark
Print this page, cut along the outer border of each card, and fold along the center line so Side A sits on the front and Side B sits on the back. For heaviest classroom use, laminate before cutting — the bookmark survives a year of book bags. Then model the five marks on a shared text before students use them independently.