| Text Connections | |
|---|---|
| Text to Text | Connection that reminds you of something in another book or story |
| Text to Self | Connection that reminds you of something in your life. |
| Text to World | Connection that reminds you of something happening in the world. |
Making connections is a very important skill to acquire and perfect. The Fire Cat is a great story for students to connect to on many different levels. In this activity, students will be making text to text, text to self, and text to world connections. Students should choose which connection they want to make first and work to write a narrative for that. Once all three connections have been made, students can work on their illustrations.
TEXT TO TEXT
TEXT TO SELF
TEXT TO WORLD
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows connections you have made with The Fire Cat. Include a connection for text to text, text to world, and text to self.
Create a visual anchor chart in your classroom that shows examples of text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections. This helps students remember the strategies and refer back to them during independent or group reading activities.
Think aloud as you read The Fire Cat, pausing to share your own connections with the text. This demonstrates the process and encourages students to make personal, meaningful links while reading.
Divide your class into small groups and have each group discuss a specific type of connection. This encourages collaborative thinking and allows students to hear diverse perspectives, strengthening their comprehension skills.
Provide students with personal journals to regularly record their text connections. Over time, this builds metacognitive awareness and helps track their growth as thoughtful readers.
Host a 'Connection Gallery Walk' where students display their storyboards or journal entries. This fosters pride in their work and lets them learn from each other's experiences and ideas.
A text-to-self connection in 'The Fire Cat' activity is when students relate events or characters from the book to their own personal experiences. For example, a student might connect Pickles chasing cats to their own pet's behavior, helping them better understand the story.
To help students make these connections, guide them to identify parts of the story that remind them of other books (text-to-text), their lives (text-to-self), or real-world events (text-to-world). Encourage them to write or draw their connections and discuss them as a class.
Making connections helps young readers understand and remember stories better by linking new information to what they already know, making reading more meaningful and engaging.
Examples of text-to-world connections include relating Pickles being a stray to real situations where people help stray animals, such as shelters or community caregivers, fostering empathy and awareness in students.
Start by reading 'The Fire Cat' aloud. Introduce the three types of connections (text-to-text, self, world). Model examples, then let students create a storyboard or draw pictures for each type. Wrap up by sharing and discussing their connections together.