Comprehension Strategies: Schema Part 3 - Making Connections

Students learned that readers comprehend better when they actively think about and apply their knowledge of a book's topic as we tapped into our schema to read nonfiction. Now, I begin to teach students how they can use their schema to make connections to fiction stories. Stephanie Harvey and Anne Goudvis state, "When children understand how to connect the text they read to their lives, they begin to make connections between what they read and the larger world. This nudges them into thinking about bigger, more expansive issues beyond their universe of home, school, and neighborhood." (Strategies that Work, 2000)

So I start again by using a launching activity from Comprehension Connections (McGregor, 2007). Around the room I hang up four picture by Norman Rockwell - High Dive, Day in the Life of a Boy, Day in the Life of Girl, and Surprise. I have students browse the pictures with a partner. I encourage students to discuss what the pictures remind them of and leave behind a sticky with their thoughts.

They learn the first thinking/talking stems for making connections:

• This reminds me of . . . 
• I'm remembering . . . 

I explain that readers use their schema when reading fiction in lots of way, but for this first day I only show them one way, making text to self connections. I use a visual of paper clips joining a book and a die cut of a person. I tell them "Connections are like chains or bridges, they connect our schema with what we are reading. We hear our inner voice saying, 'this reminds me of . . '

The First Connection Lesson

My first read aloud lesson on making connections comes from Stephanie Harvey's Primary Comprehension Toolkit. As I read aloud Patches Lost and Found By: Steven Kroll, I model making a text to self  and text to text connections, explaining how it is helping me understand what I'm reading. I then guide student into jotting down and drawing their connections as I continue reading. After reading the book, I transfer my connection to a two column think sheet. One side states "My Connection" then other "How it helps me".  I explain how I was able to understand the character's emotions because I experienced something similar. Students try the same as I float and confer. We then share our think sheets.

terrible quality . . . but you get the idea

We focus on Text to Self connections for a couple days. Each day we read a book, record our connections and discuss how it's impacting our understanding.

Snippets 

The snippet lesson comes from Strategies That Work.  To avoid long drawn out stories, it uses the book Snippets By: Charlotte Zolotow to illustrate how we can write about tiny pieces of our lives. I model choose a snippet from the text and connect it to my life, another text, or big idea. I then respond, by writing a snippet of my own. Students then choose a snippet and try to respond to it in their literacy notebooks.



Rating Our Connections Lesson

 One of the earliest reads I use is, Ira Sleeps Over by: Bernard Waber. As we read I give students opportunites to turn and talk about their connections. Since this is one of the first books, I offer some scaffolding by giving the students starting points. For example, "turn and talk about what you like to do a sleepover" or "talk about a time when you were excited for a play date like Ira is." After reading I have the students record one of their connections to a post-it and collect them for the following day.


The next day we discuss the difference between a deep connection and flat connection. I introduce the students to our Meaty Connection Picture Rubric. We discuss what makes a connection a deep connection and then rate the previous days connections on the rubric. We come to the conclusion that the best connections include details and feelings.

Some books that I use for Text to Self Connections: 

• Lily's Purple Plastic Purse By: Kevin Henkes
• Owen By: Kevin Henkes
• Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day By: Judith Viorst
• Earrings By:  Judith Viorst 
• Knuffle Bunny By: Mo Willems
• The Relatives Came By: Cynthia Rylant
• The Snowy Day By: Ezra Jack Keats
• The Two of Them By: Alikia
• Andrew’s Loose Tooth By: Robert Munsch
• Sick Day By: Patricia MacLachlan
• My Rotten Red-Headed Older Brother  By: Patricia Polacco

Once students have a good understanding of text to self connections, we begin learning about the other types of connections. 

Three Types of Connections Lesson:

I begin by introducing an anchor chart and the three types of connection. I show the chain visual that they saw earlier for text to self, but this time add in the ones for text to text and text to self.

Then I begin reading Knuffle Bunny Too By: Mo Willems. Stopping and modeling my thinking.

Stop and Talk:

1. When Trixis is excited to take her Knuffle bunny to school -  “ This reminds me of my first day of 7^th grade, I was so excited to show all my friends my new outfit. It was the first time I didn’t have to wear a uniform, I was as excited as Trixie”   Explain that this a text to self connection, the TEXT is reminding you have something that has happened to mySELF (T2S).  I invite students to assemble their own text to self puppet.
2. When Trixie has the bunny taken away - “This reminds me of Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. The teacher took Lily’s purse away. I remember that Lilly got it back at the end of the day, I bet the teacher will give Trixie her bunny back at the end of the day” Explain that is a text to text connection, one TEXT (Knuffle Bunny Too) is reminding me of another TEXT (Lily’s purple plastic purse)  (T2T).  Invite students assemble their own text to text puppet.
3. When Trixie makes her first friend in Sonja - “This reminds me of how kids often make their first friend, it usually happens by accident because they have something in common.” Explain this is Text to World connection, because the TEXT is reminding of a big idea, friendship, that happens across the WORLD (T2W). Invite  students assemble their own text to world puppet.

Now that I have modeled for the students, I relinquish some of the responsibly and guide them through determining the different types of connections. We visit blue ribbon readers website. As students watch and listen to the children on the screen make connections, they hold up their puppets to indicate which type of connection it is. 

Finally, students practice this identification of different types of connections independently by listening to a song and writing their connection on post-it notes. They then stick their post-its on our chart by based on whether they made a T2S, T2T, or T2W connection.  Some song suggestions: Rachel Delevoryas By: Randy Stonehill, We’re going to be friends By: White Stripes, Popular By: Kristin Chenoweth, Old Blue By: Byrds, You’ve got a friend in me By: Randy Newman

 Text to Text Connections

 The next step is taking students through story comparisons. I span each set of books over 2 to 3 days. One day we read aloud and make text to self connections, then by day 3 we are comparing the two stories making text to text connections. 

Here are some book combinations:

Sometimes I'm Bombaloo and When Sophie Gets Really Really Angry
       

Dooby Dooby Moo and Punk Farm
   

Good Boy Fergus     and    No David
          


 Ira Sleeps Over   and   Weekend at Wendell's
  


Bootsie Barker Bites   and  Mean Jean the Recess Queen
        


At the end of the unit, we discuss all we've learned about connections and why we should record them and try to connect every time we read. Here is our final anchor chart.

I also end up with a lot of work samples from my kiddos to show their understanding of making connections.  Here are a look at some. 

 

Again I use a lot of the graphic organizers from Hello Literacy 

By the time we have finished this unit, students have made connections to so many characters, places, and themes. They have learned that through making connections, one can vicariously live through the pages.

"All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was."  –Ernest Hemingway