I agree with you that kids really understand what a connection is by 4th grade. But what they don't understand is how making a connection can help deepen their level of understanding. For instance they might make a connection in the early grades that they had a dog that died and so did the character in their book. My question to them is: so how does that help you understand the text better? It may take a while but then they are usually able to determine that they can better understand the character's feelings after having that same experience themselves. Sue In a message dated 7/6/2009 12:56:40 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
With schema and background knowledge falling under the category of "Text Connections," this strategy is huge! I teach fourth grade and I find that I spend more time asking kids about their background knowledge now. They all know what connections are since they have heard it since kindergarten. Some still focus on "I have a dog too!" So I really focus a lot on KWL charts, asking them about what they know about a subject. Sometimes these discussions arouse the schema of many other students as well. So instead of hearing "I have a connection" over and over, I hear stories and facts that "connect" to a text. Suzanne/4thGrade/New York **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222377077x1201454398/aol?redir=htt p://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=Jul yExcfooterNO62) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive. **************An Excellent Credit Score is 750. See Yours in Just 2 Easy Steps! (http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100126575x1222377077x1201454398/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072&hmpgID=62&bcd=Jul yExcfooterNO62) _______________________________________________ Mosaic mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe or modify your membership please go to http://literacyworkshop.org/mailman/options/mosaic_literacyworkshop.org. Search the MOSAIC archives at http://snipurl.com/MosaicArchive.
