"The Storm" Lesson: Storyboard That Text Connections (2025)

Q: What are text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections in reading?

Text-to-text connections relate a part of a story to another book or story, text-to-self connections link story events to the reader’s own life, and text-to-world connections tie the story to real-world events or issues. These strategies help students deepen understanding and engagement while reading.

Q: How can teachers help students make connections with 'The Lighthouse Family: The Storm'?

Teachers can encourage students to identify moments in the story that remind them of other books, personal experiences, or world events. Using activities like storyboards and guided discussions can help students practice text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections effectively.

Q: Why is making connections while reading important for elementary students?

Making connections helps students better understand, remember, and engage with what they read. It builds critical thinking and personalizes the reading experience, making learning more meaningful and fun.

Q: What is a quick classroom activity for teaching text connections using 'The Storm'?

Have students create a storyboard showing one text-to-text, one text-to-self, and one text-to-world connection from 'The Storm.' They can add illustrations and short descriptions to explain each connection.

More options

Copy Activity *

Copy This Storyboard

Activity Overview

Template and Class Instructions

Rubric

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. The Lighthouse Family: The Storm 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.

TEXT TO TEXT

Text - Rylant writes about Seabold, a dog, that is adventurous and likes to do things on his own.
Text - Rylant also writes the Henry and Mudge series, and one of the main characters is Mudge who is also a dog. Mudge loves adventures, like camping.

TEXT TO SELF

Text - Pandora loves being a lighthouse keeper. She loves that the lighthouse is a symbol of safety for people.
Self - I met a lighthouse keeper once, while visiting my favorite lighthouse.

TEXT TO WORLD

Text - Seabold gets in a shipwreck and Pandora rescues him. When he sees the condition his boat is in from the wreck, he is sad, but he vows to fix it.
World - On the news, there was a segment about a shipwreck found on an island. People worked to fix the ship.

Copy Activity*

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 The Storm. Include a connection for text to text, text to world, and text to self.

Click "Start Assignment".
Identify parts of The Storm that you connect with.
Parts from the The Storm 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.

More options

Copy This Storyboard

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 3-4

Difficulty Level 2 (Reinforcing / Developing)

Type of Assignment Individual

Switch to: Common Core • Arizona • California • Colorado • Florida • Georgia • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Nebraska • New Jersey • New York • North Carolina • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Texas

Copy Activity*

Rubric

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)

Text Connections

Create a storyboard that shows connections you have made with the text: Text to Text, Text to World, & Text to Self.

	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.

Copy Activity*

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. The Lighthouse Family: The Storm 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.

TEXT TO TEXT

Text - Rylant writes about Seabold, a dog, that is adventurous and likes to do things on his own.
Text - Rylant also writes the Henry and Mudge series, and one of the main characters is Mudge who is also a dog. Mudge loves adventures, like camping.

TEXT TO SELF

Text - Pandora loves being a lighthouse keeper. She loves that the lighthouse is a symbol of safety for people.
Self - I met a lighthouse keeper once, while visiting my favorite lighthouse.

TEXT TO WORLD

Text - Seabold gets in a shipwreck and Pandora rescues him. When he sees the condition his boat is in from the wreck, he is sad, but he vows to fix it.
World - On the news, there was a segment about a shipwreck found on an island. People worked to fix the ship.

Copy Activity*

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 The Storm. Include a connection for text to text, text to world, and text to self.

Click "Start Assignment".
Identify parts of The Storm that you connect with.
Parts from the The Storm 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.

More options

Copy This Storyboard

Lesson Plan Reference

Grade Level 3-4

Difficulty Level 2 (Reinforcing / Developing)

Type of Assignment Individual

Switch to: Common Core • Arizona • California • Colorado • Florida • Georgia • Iowa • Kansas • Maryland • Massachusetts • Nebraska • New Jersey • New York • North Carolina • Ohio • Oklahoma • Pennsylvania • Texas

Copy Activity*

Rubric

(You can also create your own on Quick Rubric.)

Text Connections

Create a storyboard that shows connections you have made with the text: Text to Text, Text to World, & Text to Self.

	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.

Copy Activity*

How Tos about The Lighthouse Family Text Connections

1

How to Facilitate Meaningful Class Discussions About Text Connections

Encourage students to share their text connections in small groups or as a whole class. Open dialogue helps students see diverse perspectives and deepens comprehension.

2

Model making your own text, self, and world connections

Demonstrate aloud how you connect the story to another book, your own experiences, and real-world events. Think aloud so students understand your reasoning process.

3

Use sentence stems to guide student responses

Offer prompts like “This reminds me of…” or “I felt like…” to help students get started. Scaffold their thinking so all students can participate confidently.

4

Invite students to respectfully respond to each other's connections

Teach students to listen and ask follow-up questions about a peer’s connection. Active listening builds empathy and collaborative learning.

5

Wrap up by reflecting on how connections support understanding

Ask the class how making connections helped them understand The Lighthouse Family: The Storm better. Reflection reinforces the value of this reading strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions about The Lighthouse Family Text Connections

What are text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections in reading?

Text-to-text connections relate a part of a story to another book or story, text-to-self connections link story events to the reader’s own life, and text-to-world connections tie the story to real-world events or issues. These strategies help students deepen understanding and engagement while reading.

How can teachers help students make connections with 'The Lighthouse Family: The Storm'?

Teachers can encourage students to identify moments in the story that remind them of other books, personal experiences, or world events. Using activities like storyboards and guided discussions can help students practice text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connections effectively.

What is an example of a text-to-self connection for 'The Lighthouse Family: The Storm'?

An example is relating Pandora’s love for lighthouse keeping to the reader’s own experience, such as having met a lighthouse keeper or visiting a lighthouse, helping students see themselves in the story.

Why is making connections while reading important for elementary students?

Making connections helps students better understand, remember, and engage with what they read. It builds critical thinking and personalizes the reading experience, making learning more meaningful and fun.

What is a quick classroom activity for teaching text connections using 'The Storm'?

Have students create a storyboard showing one text-to-text, one text-to-self, and one text-to-world connection from 'The Storm.' They can add illustrations and short descriptions to explain each connection.