Grade 1 · English Language Arts and Reading
Quarter 2 · Week 7 · TEKS
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This Grade 1 English Language Arts and Reading lesson focuses on helping students describe personal connections to a variety of sources they read, hear, or view. Students will also practice writing brief comments on literary or informational texts. The lesson supports development of response skills through listening, speaking, reading, writing, and thinking using multiple texts, aligned with TEKS standards TEKS.ELA.1.07A and TEKS.ELA.1.07B.
Students should be familiar with basic reading and listening skills, including recognizing stories and informational texts, and have some experience with writing simple sentences or phrases.
Personal connections are ways students relate what they read, hear, or see to their own experiences, feelings, or ideas. Helping students make these connections deepens comprehension and engagement. For example, if a story is about a child playing at the park, a student might connect by thinking about a time they played at a park too. This connection helps them understand the story better and makes reading more meaningful.
Literary texts include stories, poems, and other creative writing that often have characters, settings, and plots. Informational texts provide facts and information about real things, such as animals, weather, or how things work. Students should be able to recognize these types and understand that personal connections can be made to both, such as relating a story character's feelings or connecting facts to their own experiences.
Writing brief comments means expressing a simple thought or feeling about a text in a sentence or phrase. This could be a reaction, a question, or a connection. For example, after reading a story about a dog, a student might write, "I have a dog too," or "I like dogs." These comments show that the student is thinking about the text and relating it to themselves.
Teachers should model how to make a personal connection by thinking aloud while reading a text. For example, "This story reminds me of when I went to the beach with my family." Then, model writing a brief comment about the text. Guided practice involves reading a text together, discussing possible personal connections, and jointly writing comments. This scaffolds students' understanding and skills.
Students can respond to texts not only by writing but also by drawing pictures that show their personal connections. Illustrations can help students express ideas they might find difficult to write. Combining drawing and writing supports diverse learners and enriches their engagement with texts.
After reading a story about a girl who plants a garden, a student says, "This reminds me of when I helped my mom plant flowers." Write a brief comment the student could write about the story.
The student is making a personal connection by relating the story to their own experience. A brief comment should express this connection simply and clearly.
I like the story because I helped plant flowers too.
Introduce the lesson by reading a short, engaging story aloud. Share a personal connection you have to the story, explaining how it reminds you of something in your own life.
Listen to the story and think about any personal connections they might have to it. Share ideas with a partner or the class.
This phase activates students' prior knowledge and models how to connect personally with a text, setting the purpose for the lesson.
Read a second short text, this time informational. Ask students to think about how this information relates to something they know or have experienced.
Discuss in small groups or pairs any personal connections they can make to the informational text. Share ideas with the class.
This phase helps students practice making personal connections with different types of texts, reinforcing the skill across genres.
Model writing a brief comment about one of the texts read, demonstrating how to express a personal connection in writing.
Write their own brief comments about one of the texts, using sentence starters or prompts if needed.
This phase focuses on translating personal connections into written responses, developing writing skills aligned with TEKS.ELA.1.07B.
Invite students to illustrate their personal connections to the texts and share their drawings and writings with the class.
Draw pictures that show their personal connections and explain their drawings and written comments to peers or the teacher.
This phase encourages deeper engagement by combining visual and written responses, supporting comprehension and expression.
Conduct a brief exit activity where students share one personal connection and one written comment about a text they read or heard.
Verbally share a personal connection and show or read their brief written comment to the teacher or class.
This phase assesses students' ability to describe personal connections and write brief comments, confirming mastery of the lesson objectives.
Discuss in small groups or pairs any personal connections they can make to the informational text. Share ideas with the class.
What is a personal connection to a story or text?
A personal connection is when something in the story or text reminds you of something in your own life or feelings.
After hearing a story about a puppy, a student says, "I have a puppy at home." How is this a personal connection?
The student is connecting the story about the puppy to their own experience of having a puppy at home.
Write a brief comment a student might write after reading a story about planting a garden.
I like the story because I helped plant flowers too.
Why is it important to make personal connections when reading or listening to texts?
Making personal connections helps you understand and remember the text better because you relate it to your own experiences or feelings.
Explain how drawing and writing can be used together to show a personal connection to a story.
You can draw a picture that shows something from the story that reminds you of your own life, and write a sentence explaining your connection to help others understand your thoughts.
Provide sentence starters for writing comments, such as 'I like this because...' or 'This reminds me of...'. Allow students to draw their connections if writing is difficult. Use think-alouds to model making connections step-by-step.
Use visuals and gestures to explain personal connections. Pair ELL students with peers for discussion and support. Provide vocabulary cards with key words like 'story', 'connection', and 'comment'.
Encourage students to explain why their personal connection is important to them. Have students compare personal connections between two different texts. Invite students to write multiple comments or questions about a text.
Ask families to read a story or informational text together at home and talk about any personal connections they notice. Students can share these connections in class the next day.
In this lesson, students learn to describe personal connections to a variety of texts by relating stories and informational content to their own experiences. They practice writing brief comments that express their thoughts about texts. Through listening, speaking, reading, writing, and drawing, students deepen their understanding and engagement with texts, meeting key TEKS standards for Grade 1 response skills.
Use the exact standards alignment and retrieved-source provenance stored with this enrichment.