Activity Overview
| Text Connections | |
|---|---|
| Text to Text | Connection that reminds you of something in another book or story |
| Text to Self | Connection that reminds you of something in your life. |
| Text to World | Connection that reminds you of something happening in the world. |
Making connections is a very important skill to acquire and perfect. Amos and Boris is a great story for students to connect to on many different levels. In this activity, students will be making text to text, text to self, and text to world connections. Students should choose which connection they want to make first and work to write a narrative for that. Once all three connections have been made, students can work on their illustrations.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows connections you have made with Amos and Boris. Include a connection for text to text, text to world, and text to self.
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify parts of Amos and Boris that you connect with.
- Parts from the Amos and Boris go on the left side. The connections you make go on the right side.
- Create an image for each connection using scenes, characters, items, and text boxes.
- Write a description of how the text relates to another text, the world, and you.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text Connections | Student made and labeled all three text connections correctly. | Student made and labeled two text connections correctly. | Student made and labeled one text connection correctly. |
| Examples of Connections | All examples of connections support understanding of text. | Most examples of connections support understanding of text. | Most examples of connections do not support understanding of text or are difficult to understand. |
| Illustration of Examples | Ideas are well organized. Images clearly show the connections student made with the text. | Ideas are organized. Most images help to show the connections student made with the text. | Ideas are not well organized. Images are difficult to understand. |
Activity Overview
| Text Connections | |
|---|---|
| Text to Text | Connection that reminds you of something in another book or story |
| Text to Self | Connection that reminds you of something in your life. |
| Text to World | Connection that reminds you of something happening in the world. |
Making connections is a very important skill to acquire and perfect. Amos and Boris is a great story for students to connect to on many different levels. In this activity, students will be making text to text, text to self, and text to world connections. Students should choose which connection they want to make first and work to write a narrative for that. Once all three connections have been made, students can work on their illustrations.
Template and Class Instructions
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Student Instructions
Create a storyboard that shows connections you have made with Amos and Boris. Include a connection for text to text, text to world, and text to self.
- Click "Start Assignment".
- Identify parts of Amos and Boris that you connect with.
- Parts from the Amos and Boris go on the left side. The connections you make go on the right side.
- Create an image for each connection using scenes, characters, items, and text boxes.
- Write a description of how the text relates to another text, the world, and you.
Lesson Plan Reference
Rubric
(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)
| Proficient | Emerging | Beginning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text Connections | Student made and labeled all three text connections correctly. | Student made and labeled two text connections correctly. | Student made and labeled one text connection correctly. |
| Examples of Connections | All examples of connections support understanding of text. | Most examples of connections support understanding of text. | Most examples of connections do not support understanding of text or are difficult to understand. |
| Illustration of Examples | Ideas are well organized. Images clearly show the connections student made with the text. | Ideas are organized. Most images help to show the connections student made with the text. | Ideas are not well organized. Images are difficult to understand. |
How Tos about Amos and Boris Text Connections
Plan a Class Discussion on Text Connections
Engage your students by inviting them to share their text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections aloud. This helps build confidence and deepens understanding as students listen to each other's perspectives.
Model Making Connections Using a Read-Aloud
Demonstrate how to connect Amos and Boris to your own experiences, another book, or something in the world as you read. Think aloud so students can hear your thought process, making the skill more accessible.
Use Anchor Charts to Track Connections
Create a visual chart where students add examples of each type of connection as they discover them. This ongoing reference supports all learners and sparks new ideas.
Encourage Peer Feedback on Storyboards
Pair students up to share their storyboards and offer positive feedback or ask questions about the connections made. This builds communication skills and helps students refine their thinking.
Celebrate Connections with a Gallery Walk
Display all completed storyboards and allow students to walk around, read, and comment on each other's work. This activity recognizes effort and gives every student a chance to shine.
Frequently Asked Questions about Amos and Boris Text Connections
What are text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections in reading?
Text-to-text connections compare a story to another book or story, text-to-self connections relate the story to your own life, and text-to-world connections link the story to real-world events. Making these connections helps deepen understanding and engagement with the text.
How can I teach students to make connections using Amos and Boris?
Encourage students to identify parts of Amos and Boris they relate to, then guide them to make text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections. Have them illustrate and describe each connection using a T-chart for visual support.
What is a simple lesson plan for teaching text connections with Amos and Boris?
Start by explaining the three types of text connections. Read Amos and Boris together, then ask students to find examples for each connection type. Let them complete a storyboard or T-chart and share their ideas with the class.
Why is making text connections important for elementary students?
Making text connections helps students build comprehension, personalize their reading, and see how literature relates to their lives and the wider world. It encourages critical thinking and deeper understanding.
What are some examples of text connections students might make with Amos and Boris?
Students might connect the friendship in Amos and Boris to another story about unlikely friends (text-to-text), remember helping or being helped by a friend (text-to-self), or relate the story to teamwork they see in their community (text-to-world).
More Storyboard That Activities
Amos and Boris
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