Pre-K – Grade 2
"Making Connections Song" sung by the 1st Grade All Stars
For young and beginning readers, what better way to remember
strategies for making connections than by singing!
For young and beginning readers, what better way to remember
strategies for making connections than by singing!
Questions to Ask:
Interactive Activity:
Partner Talk: Today in school, students are using complex text and are being asked to use a variety of strategies to provide evidence-based responses. One way to build collaboration and discussion among students when making connections is to use "Partner Talk", giving students an active role in their learning. There are 5 steps needed to be done by the teacher and students. 1. Plan- Plan specific times during the lesson when students will engage in Partner Talk. Generate questions you will have students discuss and place on sticky notes in text to indicate when and where they should be asked. Questions should build on one another. 2. Pose- Before posing questions, make sure to have strategically paired students in order for thoughtful conversations to take place. Have pairs sit eye-to-eye and indicate which partner should begin discussion or allow students to choose ahead of time. 3. Wait- Give students adequate time to process the question and possibly repeat question in a different way in order to provide appropriate support and scaffolding. 4. Monitor & Feedback- Remind students to take turns talking and listen to their partner's thoughts. Listen to responses to check for understanding. As you listen, provide feedback or clarify any misunderstandings or ask questions to further thinking. At the end choose a few students who made good connections to share with the entire class. 5. Write- After talking with partners students can reflect on their thoughts and understanding by writing. Depending on student age, writing ideas or questions can be posed for support. Student writing can then be used as a formative assessment to gauge which students have mastered the concept and built appropriate connections. |
Creating visual aids is a great way to introduce three types of connections to help us better understand various types of text.
Making Connections Bookmark! Just another reminder of ways to connect to your reading. This graphic can be found on BusyTeachersCafe, and activity can be found on ReadWriteThink.
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Graphic Organizers
Graphic organizers allow young readers to monitor their reading as they make connections. Make sure you share with your students that you are practicing the comprehension strategy of making connnections to find ways to personally connect with text. Below these graphic organizers help provide language support to build understanding, allow students to expand on their connections in detail, visually see how their connections become personal, and to break connections down in order to support all leveled readers. To take a look at more graphic organizers, visit the following sites: ReadWriteThink, Scholastic, and TeachersPayTeachers.
Graphic organizers allow young readers to monitor their reading as they make connections. Make sure you share with your students that you are practicing the comprehension strategy of making connnections to find ways to personally connect with text. Below these graphic organizers help provide language support to build understanding, allow students to expand on their connections in detail, visually see how their connections become personal, and to break connections down in order to support all leveled readers. To take a look at more graphic organizers, visit the following sites: ReadWriteThink, Scholastic, and TeachersPayTeachers.
Making Connections Fun
Tic-Tac-Connect- Making connections
can be interactive as students participate in Tic-Tac-Toe against themselves or a partner. This also challenges a reader to possibly think out of their comfort zone to make various types of connections to text they are reading. This activity and more can be found on the PBS LearningMedia website. |
Make Connections Game
Give your students practice making mental connections between text and what readers already know. Connections include things they have already read, things they have seen, heard, or done. Click here to play the game!
Give your students practice making mental connections between text and what readers already know. Connections include things they have already read, things they have seen, heard, or done. Click here to play the game!