Making Connections While You Read

Connect what you read to your own life, other texts, and the world to understand more.

Making connections means linking what you read to something you already know. There are three kinds. A text-to-self connection links the text to your own life: 'This reminds me of when I moved to a new school. ' A text-to-text connection links it to another book or article: 'This character is brave like the girl in the story we read last week.

' A text-to-world connection links it to something in the wider world: 'This article about saving water connects to the drought on the news. ' Connections help you understand feelings, notice patterns, and remember what you read. The best connections are specific and help you understand the text better, not just ones that mention something similar.

• 1Text-to-self: links to your own life.
• 2Text-to-text: links to another book or article.
• 3Text-to-world: links to events or facts in the world.