Making
Making Connections
Connections
Text-to-Text THIS IS OUR INSIGHT! THIS IS
Text-to-Self HOW WE EXTEND AND EXPAND
OUR ANSWER TO CONNECT TO
Text-to-World MEANINGFUL INSIGHT
Text-to-Media
What are Text Connections?
• Making connections will allow us to
better relate and understand ways
in which reading connects to:
– your own life and experiences
– other forms of literature
– society and the world
– film, theatre, television, radio
and music
How Will Making Connections
Help?
• Recognizing connections
stimulates our cognitive
(knowledge and thoughts) and
affective (feelings and
emotions) perception. This
increased awareness makes
reading more relevant and
meaningful.
Activating Prior Knowledge
• Also known as activating schema,
this skill is simply using what we
have already absorbed from reading
other texts, our lively experiences,
watching movies, and observing the
world on a day-to-day basis.
• Prior knowledge is what we already
know.
Cognitive Connections
• Cognitive connections stimulate our thought
processes and works with our prior
knowledge as we recall concrete facts and
our tactile experiences.
• When making these types of links we are
using our reasoning skills.
Affective Connections
• Affective connections
stimulate our emotions and
feelings and can cause our
moods to change.
• We are activating past
experiences that were
happy or sad, exciting or
boring, painful or soothing.
4 Types of Text Connections
• Text-to-Self (TS) - in this instance, we make personal connections
with events or characters in the text; they remind us of people we
know, things we did, places we have been, experiences we have had,
etc.
• Text-to-Text (TT) - this is when we connect events or characters
we are reading about with other texts we have read.
• Text-to-World (TW) - This is when we connect events, characters,
or concepts in a book with real life events, people, or issues. This
includes: social, political, economic, environmental, and cultural issues,
as well as race relations and class systems, conflicts, and wars. This is
a connection to a historical time period, a historical figure, or an event
in history. This can also be a current event that is happening NOW in
our WORLD.
• Text-to-Media (TM) - this is when we connect events or characters
we are reading about with a television show, a movie, a
play, a radio show, or music we have viewed or listened to.
Making Connections
Text-to-Text (T-T) Text-to-Self (T-S)
Text-to-World (T-W) Text-to-Media (T-M)
4 Types of Text Connections
• Text-to-Self (TS) - in this
instance, we make personal
connections with events or
characters in the text; they
remind us of people we know,
things we did, places we have
been, experiences we have
had, etc.
Text-to-Self
• The easiest connection to
understand is text-to-self. This
category represents the personal
connections we develop between a
specific written text and our own
experiences.
experiences
• When we say, “This story reminds me of
my grandfather who took me to the
beach. Similar to my main character,
grandpa taught me…….” Here we are
expressing a text-to-self connection.
4 Types of Text Connections
•Text-to-Text (TT) -
this is when we connect
events or characters, we
are reading about with
other texts we have
read.
Text-to-Text
• Text-to-Text connections can be
made across:
– themes
– literary elements, features,
devices, and techniques
– fiction and nonfiction genres
– paired reading selections
– vocabulary
4 Types of Text Connections
• Text-to-World (TW) - This is when we
connect events, characters, or concepts in a
book with real life events, people, or issues.
This includes social, political, economic,
environmental, and cultural issues, as well as
race relations and class systems, conflicts,
and wars. This is a connection to a historical
time, a historical figure, or an event in
history. This can also be a current event that
is happening NOW in our WORLD.
Text-to-World
• This is when we connect our answer/response to
a person in history, a time in history, or a
specific event in history. This could also include
a current event that is happening in our world.
• Text-to-World connections are greater
connections we make to events, issues, and
concerns in society. What message or universal
themes can we learn from the text? Does any
of the situations relate to what’s happening in
the world today? Is history repeating? What’s
going on in the news?
4 Types of Text Connections
•Text-to-Media (TM) - this is
when we connect events or
characters, we are reading
about with a television show, a
movie, a play, a radio show, or
music we have viewed or listened to.
Text-to-Media
• Film, television, theatre and music provide
visual and auditory enhancement of many
forms of literature.
• As we read we will find that we can make
connections to a plethora (several or many)
of movies or plays we have seen.
• A character from a novel is more likely to
come to life if we can link their personalities
to that of our favorite actor or entertainer.
Introductory Phrases for
Expressing Connections
I have experienced a similar situation as…………………
I have shared an experience with……...........
I can relate to………………….because….........
I have also experienced………………………………………………….
I have undergone the same trials and tribulations as………
There is a connection between myself and……………because
Introductory Phrases for
Connections II
A similar connection can be made to…
…brings to mind…
…relates to…
…provides a direct connection between…
…is a contrast/correlation/comparison to…
…is the epitome (best example) of…
…is the antithesis (opposite) of…
More “Lead-In Lines”
• THE AUTHOR PROBABLY FEELS THIS
WAY BECAUSE……..
• THE CHARACTER PROBABLY ACTS
THIS WAY BECAUSE…….
• THIS ALSO REMINDS ME OF…………
• MANY PEOPLE FEEL THIS WAY
BECAUSE……
• WE SEE THIS IN SOCIETY WHEN…….
