1. Making connections Comprehension Toolkit

2. Comprehension means understanding. The answers to some questions are easy to find, while the answers to others are more difficult to work out. The best way to understand a text is to ask yourself questions as you read it.

3. Comprehension Toolkit It’s easier to understand a text if you make it come alive. One way of doing this is by making connections between the characters and events in the text and the people and events in your own life.

4. Comprehension Toolkit Does this text remind you of anything from your own life? It was Jordan’s ninth birthday. The bike his parents had bought him stood against the wall in the backyard. His mum and dad smiled encouragingly at him. Jordan had told them that someone had taught him how to ride a bike when he was away at the school camp — now they would find out that he had lied to them.

5. Comprehension Toolkit The text about Jordan might remind you of a number of things … This text reminds me of: my ninth birthday. my first bike and how excited I was to get it. the times I’ve lied to my parents and to others. how lying made me feel. when I learnt to ride a bike. the scrapes and bruises I got from riding a bike. the time I went on a school camp. something I heard about that happened on a camp … Making personal connections with the characters and events in a text makes reading a richer and more rewarding experience.

6. Comprehension Toolkit