Connected Texts - What these look like in my class

In The Beginning

When I first started whole-class teaching a few years ago, I began to think more about connected texts. Many of the texts that were promoted as connected texts for use were simply connected based on the sound pattern being learned. I understand this focus—the point is practice, and practice is important. However, the texts were often simplistic and, honestly, made little sense.

Again, I get it. Those early texts for novice learners are important. With limited sounds, it is hard to create texts that are both relevant to learners’ needs and genuinely interesting. These decodable sentences absolutely have an important role to play when it comes to practice, as do word ladders and similar word-reading tasks. I still use these regularly as part of my literacy sessions.

However, when it came to whole-class reading, I wanted more of my “connected” texts to have a real connection to what we were learning—not just connected through sound patterns, but through meaningful content. I think this element of 'connected' text is often overlooked in favour of those that connect because of the sound patterns being practiced and wanted to bring a a greater balance back to the texts I was using.

I started with my character texts.

You can find out more about these and the intention behind them here. If you have been reading my posts, you will know these were wildly successful and had an unintentional impact on writing. You can read about that here.

It was this impact on writing that helped me see how powerful it is when everything is drawn together—when learning is connected rather than taught in ill-defined boxes. The more we connect it all up, the greater the impact on children’s progress.

Much of my early thinking that led to these connected texts can be found in this blog post.

Types of Connected Texts

I now have three quite distinct types of “connected texts” that I use regularly.

 

1. Character Texts (The OG)

Just like the originals, the aim is for these to be at least 60% decodable. For many of my children, they are 80–90% decodable. Within these texts I strive to have a sound pattern that we are practicing so that children are seeing and mapping this frequently.

We tackle these as a whole class, and for those who need extra support, they simply receive an extra dose—either before or after the class reading. With a strong focus on sentence-level comprehension and repeated reading, the ultimate goal of these texts is fluency.

Each time I write a new instalment, I make sure that children are only reading one new section, while the rest has already been read on previous days. This not only supports fluency development but also builds confidence allowing us to focus on prosody.

These stories revolve around the adventures of several animal friends, and the children often guide the direction of the stories through discussion and prediction. At times they even come up with new characters to be added to the stories.

Perhaps the most important factor in the success of these texts is a character called Pearl.

 

Meet Pearl

Pearl is a possum puppet who exists both in our world and in the world of the story.

She regularly “visits” the classroom, adding detail, context, and richness to the adventures—filling in the gaps that simple decodable texts cannot always capture.

It’s hard to overstate the impact of this. The moment Pearl appears, the energy in the room shifts. Children lean in, they listen more closely, and they invest more deeply in the story.

If you have not yet brought puppets into your classroom, I would strongly encourage you to give it a go. The level of engagement is something you truly have to see to believe.

 

Building Understanding

Each time we read the next instalment of the story, children draw a picture to show what is happening in the text.

This year, I have started adding a space for writing a gist. Essentially, we think about the new section of the story, consider the “who” and the “do”, and come up with a simple gist sentence. This is great practice and will link further into our Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) writing work as we move forward.

Some children may only be able to record a key word, while others choose to write their own sentence instead of the one we develop as a class.

The three images below show the first three instalments of our character stories. You can see how a new part is added each day, along with sound patterns and words we need to unpack as a class, as many of us do not yet have the code for these.

 

Our Reading Routine With These Texts

We follow a consistent routine for these stories. Children usually sit with a buddy they know they can work well with. When the stories are handed out, children read the earlier parts and attempt the new section. They underline words they are unsure of—especially those their buddy cannot help with.

1. We read the earlier parts together as a class. I then read the new section aloud, unpacking anything that needs attention.
2. We read the new section together, followed by the entire text as a group.
3. Children then read the whole text independently, and then again with their buddy.
4. As a class, we develop and record a gist sentence.
5. Children draw a picture to represent the text, while I check in with anyone who needs additional support.
6. The text goes home for further practice.

Below are some images of the stories that are finished with the picture and gist. As you can see, early on our 'gist' is very similar to the new sentence, children will be supported to develop independence with this to a greater degree over the year. Finding the who and the do, along with the what, where and when is a skill we work on when reading a text that then flows through to our writing.

 



As we progress through the year, these texts will become more complex and there will also be speech. This is a good opportunity to turn them into short plays that can be acted out, nothing helps comprehension like bringing the text to life.





Below are a couple of examples of the stories that we are reading at the end of the year. By this stage, children are having a lot of say 'via Pearl' about what happens in the stories. You can also see the connection to our class chapter book in this piece.

2. Poems, Rhymes and Songs

I am a huge fan of Reader’s Theatre and approaches such as storytelling schools and Talk for Writing. Poems, rhymes and songs are a regular part of our classroom, and they provide a natural way to integrate music with reading.

Over a period of one to three weeks (depending on time), we focus on learning a new song, rhyme or poem. The goal is for students to know it by heart. Along the way, we draw pictures to represent each part—similar to the Talk for Writing approach—and, where it fits, we incorporate instruments to bring the piece to life.

By the time we come to use the text as a whole-class reading, the children already know it well. This familiarity builds confidence and allows them to focus more on fluency and expression.

As part of the process, we revisit the text together and often include activities such as word hunts. These usually focus on words that appear frequently throughout the piece, helping to reinforce recognition and understanding in a meaningful context.

We also make time to perform the piece—either as a whole class or by taking on different parts. This is always a highlight, and the children absolutely love it.

Below is an example of one of the songs we learned, performed, and then used as a shared reading text.

3. Knowledge Reads

These texts link directly to our wider topics and are often more complex in nature. The purpose of these reads is to build knowledge, unpack vocabulary, and develop comprehension together.

They are not intended to be independent reading texts. Instead, I read them aloud, with some children contributing by reading selected sections where appropriate. This allows all students to access the content, regardless of their reading level.

Our knowledge reads are usually connected across a sequence, meaning key vocabulary and ideas are revisited and reinforced over multiple texts. This repetition supports both understanding and retention.

These texts also link strongly to our writing. As we progress through the year, they increasingly become model texts. We use them to identify the gist and draw out important ideas, which then feed directly into our writing work.

Children take these texts home to share and discuss with their whānau. There is no expectation that they will read them independently. That said, many children naturally begin to see these texts as a welcome challenge and, with a little support, are able to read parts independently.

From these knowledge reads, we build knowledge webs around each topic. Once a topic is complete—whether it runs for two weeks or up to half a term—I create a short quiz, which the children absolutely love. They also like to be in charge of making a quiz for others.

Our Own Written Texts

Alongside these three types of “connected” texts, we also create our own.

As we progress with Releasing Writers (SRSD), we spend a lot of time on whole-class writing, often using frameworks such as CSPACE or TIDE. These pieces are developed collaboratively, with ideas shared, discussed and refined as a group.

Once completed, I publish the texts so students can take them home to use as reading material. They absolutely love this. There is a real sense of ownership and pride in reading something they have helped to create.

We craft and edit these pieces together, making the writing process visible and supported. This shared approach provides a valuable opportunity for students to learn how writing works—how ideas are shaped, improved and refined over time.

You will have to excuse how messy the images below are—they very much reflect my teacher scrawl while leaning across the board! The stories themselves, however, are written in the children’s words. I type and lightly edit them as the students share and agree on their ideas, ensuring the final piece remains true to their thinking.

The Link to Writing

What I have found over the years of developing this approach is that the spin-off benefits for writing are significant. What we are reading about, we are writing about—and what we are writing about, we are reading.

Because of this, children rarely struggle to come up with ideas. The strong connection between reading and writing provides a constant source of inspiration and purpose.

What About Decodable Books?

Decodable books still have an important place in our programme. We use them as practice tools, and children spend time throughout the day building their skills with these texts.

Students who need Tier 2 support receive additional time with me, reading decodable books at an appropriate stage for their needs, connected to the sounds they are currently learning.

I also recommend this short podcast by Tim Shanahan, which explores the role of complex texts for young readers. It is well worth a listen and is only eight minutes long:
https://shanahan-on-literacy.cohostpodcasting.com/episodes/won-t-challenging-texts-discourage-young-readers

Rethinking “Connected” Texts

Traditionally, connected texts are defined by their role in reinforcing a specific sound pattern. While we still use texts in this way—through fluency sentences, reading ladders and decodable books—I think it important that we also think of connected texts in the broader sense.

For me, these texts that are connected to understanding, connected to the curriculum, and a way of bringing everything together are just as important.

While novice learners do need to develop strong decoding skills, using these types of texts with my Year 1 and 2 class also allows us to focus on all the other strands of the reading rope. At the same time, we are strengthening connections across our classroom curriculum.

I have found this approach to be incredibly powerful.

As children build a solid foundation in the code, you begin to see a great deal of self-teaching emerge. These connected texts create even more opportunities for that to happen, allowing children to apply what they know in meaningful and supported ways.

Exciting Times Ahead

If you know me, you will know that I am a huge fan of dramatic inquiry. I am really excited to begin weaving this approach into our character texts.

There is already trouble brewing on the farm… A large old tree—home to Pearl and many other animals—is set to be cut down to make way for a road.

What will our animal friends do? And more importantly, how can we help?