Making Reading Connections

Overview

This lesson covers how to make meaningful connections between reading materials and personal or world experiences to improve reading comprehension.

Making connections enhances reading comprehension by relating text to personal experiences, other texts, and the real world.
Prior knowledge, emotion, and opinions (schema) shape how you understand reading material.
Three main types of connections: text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world.

Text-to-Self: Relate the reading to your own life experiences, emotions, or opinions.
Text-to-Text: Connect themes, genres, or topics from one text to another you have read.
Text-to-World: Link the reading to real-world events, issues, or global scenarios beyond personal experience.

Text-to-Self: What does this remind me of in my life? How is this similar or different to my life?
Text-to-Text: How is this similar to or different from other texts I have read?
Text-to-World: What does this remind me of in the real world? How does this text relate to the world?

Annotating (marking the text) helps you remember and associate experiences with the text.
Four benefits of annotating: increases engagement, slows reading for detail, aids processing, and records evidence.
Effective strategies include: circling unknown words, using symbols for key points, tracking characters, summarizing chapters, and noting questions.

Reading Comprehension — Understanding and interpreting meaning from written text.
Schema — Background knowledge and experiences that influence understanding.
Text-to-Self Connection — Linking stories or content to your personal life.
Text-to-Text Connection — Relating ideas or experiences across different texts.
Text-to-World Connection — Associating reading material with real-world events or issues.
Annotation — Marking and noting important information or questions directly on the text.

Practice making text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections while reading.
Use annotation strategies to deepen comprehension.
Try using a graphic organizer to map your connections.
Prepare questions or insights from your reading for class discussion.