Making Connections in Fiction
This worksheet helps Grade 8 students practice making connections (text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world) while reading fiction.
Includes
Standards
Topics
Making Connections in Fiction
Name:
Date:
Score:
Read the passage below carefully. Then, answer the questions that follow by making text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world connections.
Passage: The Old Willow Tree
Elara often sought refuge under the ancient willow tree at the edge of the sprawling meadow. Its long, weeping branches created a secluded, green sanctuary where she could escape the clamor of her bustling household. Today, however, the willow offered little comfort. Her best friend, Liam, had just moved to another state, leaving a void that echoed louder than any argument with her siblings. She traced patterns in the damp earth with a stick, remembering their shared adventures: building secret forts, chasing fireflies, and whispering dreams beneath the very same branches. The tree felt different now, its silence heavy with unspoken goodbyes. Elara sighed, a lonely sound swallowed by the rustling leaves.
1. Text-to-Self: Have you ever experienced a similar feeling of loss or sadness when a friend moved away or a significant change occurred in your life? Describe your experience and how it connects to Elara's feelings.
2. Text-to-Text: Can you recall another story, book, or movie where a character deals with the pain of separation or the emotional impact of a significant place? Compare Elara's experience to that character's experience.
3. Text-to-World: In what ways does Elara's experience with the willow tree—a place becoming a symbol of memory and change—reflect how real-world locations or objects can hold deep personal significance for people?
Read each statement below and identify whether it represents a Text-to-Self, Text-to-Text, or Text-to-World connection. Write your answer in the blank.
4. Reading about a character who loves to read and thinking, "That reminds me of how much I love to read too!" is a connection.
5. Learning about a story where a character struggles with poverty and comparing it to news reports you've seen about economic inequality is a connection.
6. Finishing a fantasy novel and realizing the magic system is very similar to one you read about in another fantasy series is a connection.
Indicate whether each statement is True or False.
7. Making connections helps readers better understand and engage with a text.
True
False
8. Text-to-world connections are only about current events and never about historical events.
True
False