T. Wolsey

HUG
Highlight, Underline, Gloss

HUG is an acronym that teachers may use to refer to the study strategies of highlighting, underlining, and glossing text. Highlighting and underlining perform the same function essentially. Students should be taught how to identify key phrases, vocabulary, and concepts then use a highlighter to mark those passages. Students may also highlight sections they like or underline things they don't understand.

Glossing is what some teachers have called "Write On Reading." Readers circle vocabulary they don't know and write marginal comments (annotations) and questions to the author. The gloss can be a note about what the highlighted text refers to, a question the reader has, a connection with what the author already knows, a prediction, etc.

Modeling is an important step in teaching students to highlight, underline, and gloss. Students should be provided with opportunities to use HUG and with the necessary tools to do so.

A limitation of the technique is that students have to be able to mark on the text. Alternatives to marking on the text include:

• using Post-It. notes in the margins of the textbook,
• using a plastic transparency overlay,
• cutting a hole the size of the text in notebook paper so the students can write on the paper instead of the book margins.

If the teacher duplicates an article, story or essay, it may be helpful to set up the copier so that the final product has extra-wide margins.

adapted from an on-line bulletin board: http://www.indiana.edu/~disted/readpro/