Are you wondering, “What is a text to self connection?” You are in the right place my friend! This post is all about how to teach text to self connections and will show you some great books to teach these skills!
First, raise your hand if you teach reading and writing! ✋ Class books are one of my favorite tools for writing workshop time. They really help preschool and Kindergarten students get excited about learning to read and write. I’ve put together a set of my favorite printable class books totally free for you! These class books can be used throughout the school year and focus on skills like letter and number recognition, sight words, environmental print, and more! I know you’ll love writing and creating these books with your students!
What is a Text to Self Connection?
So, what is a text to self connection? A text to self connection is when a text or a book makes you think of something that happened to yourself! It can be a connection with an experience or a character’s feeling or action in the story. I always recommend teaching text to self connections first because children are very egocentric and it’s much easier for them to make a connection to themselves than anything else.
It should come as no surprise that books make us think. One of the ways we introduce thinking about books to young readers is by making text connections. There are four types of connections that children are taught starting usually around Kindergarten and First Grade. These four connections are:
- Text to Self Connections
- Text to Text Connections
- Text to World Connection
- Text to Media Connection (this is a new addition!)
In this post, we are going to jump into Text to Self connections.
10 Books for Making Text to Self Connections
When you are first teaching this skill, you will want to choose books that have very relatable storylines for your students. At first the connections will be very surface level, but as your students become more familiar with making text to self connections they will be able to make deeper connections and think more outside of the box. It’s also important to choose a fiction book to foster these connections. Here are 10 of my favorite books for making Text to Self connections.
As always, you can click on any book title to order the book, but don’t forget to check with your local library too!
Books for Teaching Text to Self Connections
Owen by Kevin Henkes: Kevin Henkes is my favorite author and so many of his stories are wonderful for making text connections! In this story, Owen loves his blanket and it very attached to it. Most children can make a connection with an object that they love too!
Lola Goes to School by Anna McQuin: If your little one is going to school or you are teaching this skill in the classroom, this book is for you!
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst: This book is a classic. Everyone can relate to having a bad day and everything going wrong!
No David by David Shannon: Is there a child out there that can’t relate to being told no? I don’t think so! This book is short and sweet and easily keeps the attention of younger students.
Waiting is Not Easy by Mo Willems: The entire Elephant and Piggie series is great! In this book, Piggie has a surprise for Gerald, but he must wait and wait! Many children can think of and relate to having to wait for something like a birthday or to go on a special trip.
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems: Can you tell who one of my favorite authors is? In this book, the Pigeon really wants a puppy! I bet your students will be able to think of something they really want or make another connection with the story!
My Monster Mama Loves Me So by Laura Leuck: This a sweet story that you usually see around Halloween, but it can totally be read at any time! It’s a great story for children to make connections about love and doing things with people that love them!
The Art Lesson by Tomie dePaolo: I love that Tomie dePaolo literally writes about his childhood experiences. This is a good one that lends it’s self to some deeper connections like being disappointed.
Llama Llama Mad at Mama by Anna Dewdney: I love all of the Llama Llama books. This one deals with the feeling of anger, an emotion little ones can understand and relate to!
Text to Self Sentence Stems
Sentence stems are really helpful for teaching text connections because they help little ones put their ideas into complete thoughts and model how to discuss books. Here are a few sentence stems to use when making text to self connections with your students.
- This reminds me of when I…
- This makes me think of when I…
- I felt the same way…
Response Pages
These text to self connection response pages are a great way to assess this skill. Even Kindergarten students can use them! Children will just draw what happened in the story and then their connection to it!
This response sheet is available inside of Making Text Connections. You’ll also find response sheets for all of the connections plus anchor charts and more!
More Resources for Teaching Reading:
Making Text Connections
How to Teach Visualizing
Rhyming Activities for Kindergarten
Don’t forget to download your set of free printable class books and start writing and reading with your students! They are focused on the skills preschoolers and Kindergarten students need to know like numbers and letter recognition! If you want to learn more about class books check out this post, How to Make Meaningful Class Books with Preschool and Kindergarten Students.
Now you can answer the question, “What is a text to self connection?”