comprehending :: activating prior knowledge :: making connections ::
reflective connection
"We've come to call these connections 'connections in common.' for instance, if you share a name, birthplace, or relative with a character, you have that in common. And although these connections in common do not lead to understanding, they very well may lead to engagement, because kids like to read about characters with the same name or who have been places they have been, and so forth. So these connections in common may in fact be important to the reader but not important to understanding the text. To help the reader decide, we use a three column form headed My Connection/Important to Me/Important to Understanding the Text. Kids record the connections in the first column and then decide if it is important to the reader or important to understanding. In this way we are not telling the reader that their thinking doesn't matter, but rather that their thinking matters a great deal and that it is their responsibility to decide about the relative importance of their connection." (Harvey, S., & Goudvis, A., 2007, p. 103)
Working Definition
Reflective connections are those connections in which the reader takes something within the text and connects it with their own experience or knowledge. These connections are often important for the motivation of the reader, but not necessarily important to understanding.
Prompts
Prompts are found in each of the subsets.