| 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. Tops and Bottoms 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: In the story, Bear does not want to do any work and lets Hare do all the work planting the crops. He is upset when he finds out he has a harvest full of the useless parts of vegetables.
Text: The Little Red Hen is a fable where the Hen asks her friends if they will help her plant and harvest wheat. Each time she asks they all reply, "not I", so the Hen does it herself. Hen's hard work turns into a delicious loaf of baked bread. Her friends all want some, but Hen refuses because they did not help her in any way.
TEXT TO SELF
Text: In the story, Hare is a hard worker. He is determined to find a way to get food to feed his family. Bear is not a hard worker and loves to sleep.
Self: I am a very hard worker and I always help my dad with yard work. My sister is lazy and always wants to sleep.
TEXT TO WORLD
Text: When Hare is explaining his idea (trick) to Bear, he tells bear that they could become business partners.
World: In the news, I learned about brothers who were business partners in real estate. They just released a new book that they wrote together.
(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 Tops and Bottoms. Include a connection for text to text, text to world, and text to self.
Display an anchor chart in your classroom to help students remember the three types of text connections—text to self, text to text, and text to world. Use colorful headings, simple explanations, and examples from 'Tops and Bottoms' to make each connection type memorable.
Think aloud as you read a passage from 'Tops and Bottoms,' sharing your own text connection with students. This shows students how to relate personally, compare with other texts, or connect to the world around them.
Encourage students to jot down quick notes or draw pictures of connections that come to mind as they read. Prompt them with questions to spark ideas, like 'Does this remind you of another story?' or 'Have you experienced something similar?'
Pair students and have them share one connection they made with the text. This builds confidence and helps students learn from each other's perspectives.
Collect student connections and display them on a bulletin board or wall. Highlight a variety of connection types to reinforce learning and celebrate thoughtful reading.
Text-to-text connections relate a story to another book, text-to-self links it to your own life, and text-to-world connects it to events or issues in the world. These skills help students better understand what they read.
Start by explaining each type of connection. Then, read 'Tops and Bottoms' together. Ask students to share stories from their lives (self), books they've read (text), or news/events (world) that remind them of the story. Encourage them to write or draw their connections.
A text-to-text connection for 'Tops and Bottoms' is comparing Bear and Hare's teamwork to 'The Little Red Hen,' where characters also decide whether or not to help with work and share the rewards.
Making connections helps young students build comprehension, relate personally to stories, and deepen their understanding. It encourages critical thinking and empathy, making reading more meaningful and memorable.
Have students create a storyboard: place scenes from 'Tops and Bottoms' on one side and their connections on the other. Ask them to draw or use images for each type of connection, then write a short description explaining the relationship.