What does it mean to ‘connect ideas’ in a text?
Connecting ideas in a text means to link related pieces of information together to give us a better understanding of certain parts of the text.
It’s a bit like connecting up the numbers in a dot-to-dot. When we first start joining the numbers up we really can’t see what the picture is, but when all the dots are connected the final picture becomes clear.
Why does this skill help us to better understand texts?
Connecting ideas in a text gives us a clearer understanding of certain characters, events or information found in a text.
For example, in imaginative texts, we may better understand why characters speak or act in a certain way by connecting it to something we have read about them earlier in the story. Illustrations can also be used in imaginative texts to help us connect ideas between characters or events in the story.
Connecting ideas in informative texts involves linking facts together to improve our understanding of certain aspects of a topic. For example, linking written information about the major organs found in the human body to an actual diagram of where these organs are found gives us a clearer picture of the inner workings of the human body.
In persuasive texts, ideas are connected to support an author’s point of view about a topic. This helps gives us a better understanding of the point of view being presented.
Where else do we use this skill?
Connecting ideas also helps us to:
- Stay safe. Connecting what we know about dangerous situations can make us act a certain way (like looking both ways before crossing a busy road or putting on a seatbelt in a car).
- Solve written maths problems. Connecting the information in a maths word problem helps us work out the final answer.
- Understand others. By relating our own real life experiences to the experiences of others, we can better understand how they may be feeling or why they are acting a certain way.
How do we connect ideas in a text?
Connecting ideas in a text is not as easy as connecting the numbers in a dot-to-dot. We may need to link words and sentences from different parts of the text to make connections about how certain ideas relate to each other. On the bright side, you can often find the links written in the actual text.
Let’s look at some examples.
Read this paragraph from Talent Quest (Ziptales - Fantasy):
Grandma always gave me the strangest presents for my birthday. She was a part-time, not very good, inventor who always tried out her experiments on her family. Usually they broke before they worked, so each birthday and Christmas everyone always tried to look enthusiastic when unwrapping her gifts.
Answer the following question about the text:
Why did the children try to look enthusiastic when they opened their gifts from Grandma?
- Because they loved Christmas.
- Because they knew the gift would probably break.
- Because they were sick of Grandma’s gifts.
- Because they thought she was a bad inventor.
If you read the text again, you can see that the answer is in this sentence: ‘Usually they broke before they worked….” so the answer is option B - Because they knew the gift would probably break.
Now read this excerpt from Dr Wow (Ziptales - Adventureland):
Billy's uncle Dr Harry was an inventor. Harry was an odd one. You may have read in the papers about the madman who crossed the bay in a Volkswagen with floats attached. All went well until the Water Police motored up and asked if he had a license for his 'boat'. It was just as well. By the time they got back, the car was half under water. Dad was forced to pay the fine. Harry had to promise to stay on land. Dad dubbed it the 'Waterbomb'.
Answer the following question about the text:
Why does Billy’s dad call Uncle Harry’s invention a ‘Waterbomb’?
- It sunk so easily.
- Harry didn’t have a license for it.
- Dad was forced to pay the fine.
- It exploded in the water.
By connecting the sentence ‘By the time they got back, the car was half underwater’ to the label of ‘Waterbomb’, we know why dad used this term to describe the invention, so the answer is option A – It sunk so easily.
Let’s try one more. Read this paragraph from The Twelve Dancing Princesses (Ziptales – Fairy Tales):
Once upon a time there was a King. He had twelve daughters...The twelve princesses slept together in the royal apartments. Each night, at bedtime, the King personally locked that whole wing of the palace so that no one could get in or out. However, in the morning, the princesses were as tired as if they had been up all night. What’s more, their shoes were worn out. ‘What do you do at night?’ roared the King.
‘All we do is sleep,’ replied the twelve princesses. Of course the King did not believe it. But he had no idea what they did. So he came up with a plan.
Answer the following question about the text:
The king did not believe his daughters when they said they slept all night. Why?
- He knew they never told the truth.
- The doors were unlocked every morning.
- They all slept together so probably chatted all night.
- They were tired and their shoes were worn out.
Again, we can find the answer by linking information found in the text -‘However, in the morning, the princesses were as tired as if they had been up all night. What’s more, their shoes were worn out.’ This tells us that the answer is option D - They were tired and their shoes were worn out.
Top tips for connecting ideas in a text:
- SCAN the text to locate the information you are looking for.
- REREAD the words to identify ideas that are connected.
- CROSS CHECK to make sure the ideas are directly linked to each other.
- CONFIRM by using this information to help you answer the question being asked.
