Having discussed in previous articles in the series the literature circle format and importance of reading journals in the literature circle format it's now time to take a closer look at the types of responses that children may engage in and expound upon some of them in future articles.
I always tell my fifth graders of reading books that there are only a handful of things that great readers do in the course of reading anything and if they get in the habit of doing these things while they read then they'll become more thoughtful and critical readers. I go on to tell them that readers make connections, make predictions, ask questions, create mental images, discover new words, and draw conclusions. If children internalize these key ideas, with the help of meaty discussions with others surrounding good literature, they'll grow better as readers. For this article I focus on making connections and later explore a lesson whereas a teacher can model this thinking technique.
When readers make connections they are drawn to think of their own lives as they read along. Drawing connections can help the reader appreciate exactly how a character feels at a given moment, what motivates a character's actions, or what life may be like for a character in a given story (ie if the character is living on a farm and the reader also grew up on a farm, then the reader is in a better position to understand the character). Sometimes in my fifth grade class a child will write a simple connection like, "The main character has a friend named Bill and so do I!" I go on to ask him how this helps him understand the story better and it is difficult to respond to an inquiry like this. I compliment him for making a connection because it shows he is learning to think about such things as he reads, but go on to implement a mini lesson about why we make connections and that the best connections are those that help us to understand and appreciate the story better.
Another type of connection a reader can make while reading is a connection to another book. In doing so, the reader may be drawn to make predictions. A story containing a character who is afraid of the water may remind the reader of a past story where a character was afraid of spiders. "At the end of that story she learned that spiders were good because they helped control the insect population and that most spiders were not dangerous, so I'll bet this girl will overcome her fear of water and learn to swim." With so many books on the shelves often circumstances, characters, and themes have much in common and to be able to reflect on another book which relates to a book being read at present is a powerful tool. For instance children reading Winn Dixie can be enticed or drawn to think of other popular books in the same genre such as Sounder, Old Yeller, The Summer of Riley, Shiloh, and the zillion other books about a boy/girl and his/her dog. It may even encourage them to want to explore more books in that genre.
Getting in the habit of making connections to personal experiences and other books will aid in understanding.