Reading Strategy Making Connections : Making Connections : A Bridge From the New to the Known

do we teach students to make By making connections to text, students can activate their prior knowledge (including experiences and emotions), or schema. Prior knowledge or schema is important to students’ reading comprehend. Why connections?

do we teach students to make Good readers always draw on prior knowledge and experience to help them understand what they are reading. Research shows students who are explicitly taught how to use strategies to activate prior knowledge when they read can comprehend better. (Harvey & Goudvis, 2000) Why connections?

to teach? According to Keene and Zimmerman (1997), students comprehend better when they make the following connections: Text-to-self Text-to-text Text-to-world What

to teach? Text-to-self: making connection between a text and their own experience or life Text-to-text: making connection between a text and another text that has been read previously Text-to-world: making connection between what they read and what they learn about things through television, movies, magazines and newspapers. Text-to-self What Text-to-textText-to-world

Text-to-self What does this remind me of in my life? What is this similar to in my life? How is this different from my life? Has something like this ever happened to me? How does this relate to my life? What were my feelings when I read this? questions can help students make connections? What

Text-to-text What does this remind me of in another text I have read? What is this similar to other text I have read? How is this different from other text I have read? Have I read about something like this before?

Text-to-world What does this remind me of in the real world? What is this similar to things that happen in the real world? How is this different from things that happen in the real world?

Teaching Demonstration: Text-to-self connection B) The causes of the waste problem & its effects on the environment in HK B) We need to take action to make HK green and conserve the environment What is the text about? A) Hong Kong people ’ s habit of using disposable things What is the message intended by the writer? A) We should not buy things with packaging and use plastic bags Is this text related to us? How? Make connection between the text to ourselves

Text-to-self connection: thinking about similar or different things between a piece of reading material and our own experience or life

The text about the waste problem Yourself

Appendix 9

Appendix 10

Appendix 11

Inside the classroom Teaching Procedures 1. Introduce the idea that we can activate what we already know (prior knowledge) to understand more about what we are reading 2. Tell students they can do it by making connections between themselves and what they read 3. Read a text with students

4. Show students an organizer with questions that help make connections 5. Model how to make connections 6. Encourage students to make connections by using their personal experience Inside the classroom to teach this strategy? How

Inside the classroom to teach this strategy? 7. Use prompts to help students to make connections This part reminds me of.... If that happened to me I would.... This book reminds me of...(another text) because.... I can relate to...(part of text) because one time.... Something similar happened to me when Allow time for sharing. 9. Students should continue to practice the strategy as necessary. How

An important point to note Text connections should lead to text comprehension. Intervention is needed to prevent students from being distracted from the text Resources consulted:

Making Connections Cue Card better understand and digest what they read make sense of the text by using their prior knowledge