One of the things that we are looking for when we read to and with children is if they are connecting with the story. We can connect by having one story remind us of another story we read which has a similar plot or characters. This is called a text-to-text connection. Another way to connect is that a story reminds us of an event in our own life. This is called a text-to-self connection. And lastly, we can connect with a story by relating the story to learning something new about the world. We call that a text-to-world connection.
We have just completed a rather haphazard author study on Kevin Henkes. In each story we read, we looked for ways the stories connected with us. By far the most popular story was 'Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse'. We all love Mr. Slinger, Lily's teacher. We love Lily and we ALL understand how she does something so terrible to someone she loves. But what we all love the most is how at the end, she is forgiven and a valuable lesson is learned. Even weeks after reading the story when someone says "WOW!", someone else will chime, "and that's all he could say." (A line from the book that is repeated several times.)
In honor of our love for Mr. Slinger and Lily, we have created a Lightbulb Lab in our classroom.
Here is our new writing center. Thank you, Mr. Henkes, for such wonderful stories that help us connect to literature!
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