Making Connections
Making connections is thinking about the text in relation to ourselves, other texts, and the world (Keene & Zimmerman, 2000). The ability to make connections provides the basis for learning, as students connect new information with their own experiences. This, therefore, is necessary for understanding.
Two activities that support making connections: Tic Tac Connect
Connection Stems
Two activities that support making connections: Tic Tac Connect
Connection Stems
Tic Tac Connect
How to Play
Using a narrative text as the stimulus, students either in pairs or two small groups, play Tic Tac Connect . One child in the pair is naughts and the other is crosses. After reading the story, students make a connection with the text by using the chart opposite. First student or team to get three naughts or three crosses in a line wins ( Use naughts and crosses on card).
My Life - How is the event similar to one in my life.
A Book - How does it connect to a book I have read.
Story Character - How is a character similar to another character from a book or movie.
What I Know - How is this the same as something I know.
Friend - How is the event or a character the same or similar to something that has happened to a friend.
Place - How is something in the text the same or similar or reminds me of a place I know.
My Thinking - How is the text similar to my own thinking.
News - How is the text similar to something that has happened in the news.
Family - How is the text similar or the same as my own family. Maybe a character reminds you of your brother or sister, or an action or behaviour might remind you of someone in your family.
Using a narrative text as the stimulus, students either in pairs or two small groups, play Tic Tac Connect . One child in the pair is naughts and the other is crosses. After reading the story, students make a connection with the text by using the chart opposite. First student or team to get three naughts or three crosses in a line wins ( Use naughts and crosses on card).
My Life - How is the event similar to one in my life.
A Book - How does it connect to a book I have read.
Story Character - How is a character similar to another character from a book or movie.
What I Know - How is this the same as something I know.
Friend - How is the event or a character the same or similar to something that has happened to a friend.
Place - How is something in the text the same or similar or reminds me of a place I know.
My Thinking - How is the text similar to my own thinking.
News - How is the text similar to something that has happened in the news.
Family - How is the text similar or the same as my own family. Maybe a character reminds you of your brother or sister, or an action or behaviour might remind you of someone in your family.
Build a Connection
After reading a narrative text, students use the connection cards opposite to help make connections between text and self, text and text and text to world.