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Organizer
Teacher Printables

Making Connections

For Teachers 3rd - 10th
Encourage your readers to make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections with a graphic organizer that also asks them to detail how they made these connections. Reproduce the template for each learner or project the...
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Printables
Curated OER

Paper Chain Connections

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Make real connections in literature and in life. While reading, class members fill out links for a chain, circling the connection type, noting the page number, and commenting on each one. When they've completed all the links, they cut...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Build a Connection

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
Learners discuss their personal connections with stories they've read in the past and identify techniques to connect with more stories. They create illustrations, construct task cards, and complete sentence stems based on books they read...
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Worksheet
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K12 Reader

Making Connections to Text

For Students 2nd - 3rd Standards
This short reading comprehension worksheet encourages readers to make self-to text, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections as a way of remembering what they have read.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Relatives

For Teachers K - 2nd
Primary learners read the text The Relatives Came and make text to self-connections. In this literature discussion, they discuss what the text reminds them of in their own lives. They can also write down their connections and share them.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Art Around the World

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
The non-fiction book Art Around the World by Heather Leonard serves as inspiration for learning how art reflects cultures and values. New vocabulary and background knowledge are fleshed out before reading the story. Afterward, the class...
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Lesson Plan
Harper Collins

Parrot in the Oven: Response Journal

For Teachers 6th - 12th
After completing Chapter 5 of Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida, readers make text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections to Victor Martinez's novel by crafting journal entries addressing comments and questions to characters in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making an Inference from an Implied Message Within a Text

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Show your scholars that they make inferences every day and might not even know it. Through scaffolded instruction, they break down the process of drawing information from context. Using example sentences and didactic questioning,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The First Strawberries

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Young scholars explore Cherokee legends. They read The First Strawberries by Joseph Bruchac, and then do several activities to help comprehension. They discuss the book and answer comprehension questions. In addition, they retell the...
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Unit Plan
Curated OER

James and the Giant Peach Comprehensive Guide

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Each page of a comprehension packet that accompanies James and The Giant Peach requires learners to think, comprehend, focus on characters, make text-to-self and text-to-world connections, and build vocabulary through context. The...
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Lesson Plan
Hawaiʻi State Department of Education

Text Connections

For Teachers 5th
There are so many different ways to help learners make text-to-self connections. Here, fifth graders will create tableaus that show an event from a chapter in the class reader. They'll discuss why they chose that event to dramatize and...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Phineas Gage: The Teenage Brain and Connections: Free Choice Activity

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
During this instructional activity, which is all about making connections, learners watch a documentary about the teenage brain and connect it to Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science, their own lives, and the world.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Problematic Situation for Yoshiko Uchida's Journey to Topaz

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Like Yuki, Mrs. Sakane, and Ken, characters in Journey to Topaz, class groups must reach a consensus on 12 items they would bring if forced to relocate.  The activity provides readers with an opportunity to make text-to-self and...
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Worksheet
Read Works

How to Say “I Ruff You”

For Students 7th Standards
Who says you need a human to be your valentine on Valentine's Day? Give your dog-loving readers an inspiring perspective on how a sister givdes her brother a valentine from the family dog. They then answer 10 questions thatd involve...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Newcomers

For Teachers K - 3rd
Explore emotions associated with moving to a new home with young learners. First they listen to the books Painted Words/Spoken Memories by Aliki and Going Home by Eve Bunting. Then they are invited to share their experiences as well as...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Real World Connections

For Teachers 5th - 7th Standards
Explore universal themes in literature with a literacy and multicultural awareness lesson plan. Elementary and middle schoolers make real world connections between themes in books from several cultures. They make inferences and locate...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Lesson 4: Text-to-World Connections

For Teachers 2nd Standards
Making connections to the text you're reading may help build a deeper appreciation and understanding of the material. Second graders practice making text to self and text to life connections as they read two passages; one about Martin...
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PPT
Reed Novel Studies

Dolphins of the World

For Students 4th - 8th Standards
Pair a novel study of Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell with a presentation on dolphins. The 37-slide PowerPoint shows different types of dolphins all around the world, includes a brief description of each, and provides a photo...
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Lesson Plan
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Curated OER

Learning From World War II and Connecting It to the Present

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Compare and contrast World War II to the modern Iraq war with this instructional activity. After watching a film, learners use supporting evidence to support their point of view of the conflicts. Using the internet, they create a...
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Interactive
National Constitution Center

Explore Rights Around the World

For Students 8th - 12th Standards
How has the American Bill of Rights influenced the rest of the world? An interactive web activity helps individuals see the similarities between countries' bills of rights. A text-to-text tool compares the American Bill of Rights to...
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Lesson Plan
National History Day

No More Sticks and Stones: Technological Advancements in World War I Warfare

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
Remind young historians that many technological advancements influenced the events of World War I. After analyzing technology's evolution through primary sources, discussing the changes over time, and watching various video clips,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Zoom Broom

For Teachers K - 2nd
Learners explore comprehension strategies as they listen to Zoom Broom by Margie Palatini. As the story is read, teacher and pupils will stop occasionally to make text-to-text, text-to-self, or text-to-world connections. They also...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Literary Newspaper: Candide

For Teachers 11th - 12th
Prejudice? Religious intolerance? Political sedition? Class distinction? Plight of women? Voltaire satire, anyone? A literary newspaper offers an opportunity for readers of Candide to make text-to-self and text-to-world connections as...
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Lesson Plan
National History Day

Propaganda Posters of World War I: Analyzing the Methods Behind the Images

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The power of a picture. During the events surrounding World War I, propaganda posters were widely distributed in American society to sway the emotions of its citizens. By analyzing World War I propaganda posters in the first installment...