The Very Cranky Bear: Making Connections is a purposeful activity designed to accompany a whole class reading of the picture book The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland. These no-prep comprehension worksheets will allow you to check your students’ ability to make meaningful connections with the story based on their prior knowledge and text clues. These connections are an important part of comprehension as they help students make sense of what they are reading.

If students are focusing on text to self connections, they can consider what personal experiences connect them to the characters, settings, or events in the story. If focusing on text to text connections, they can think about other fiction or non-fiction books, films, or television shows that the text reminds them of. If focusing on text to world connections, they can explore what real world places, people, animals, events, or issues spark a connection.

The Very Cranky Bear: Making Connections is perfect for independent work, small group tasks, scribing, assessment evidence, or your relief folder. It offers multiple flexible options to suit the needs of your class and to promote deeper comprehension and engagement with the story.

Key Learning Outcomes:

• ✅ Develop the ability to make meaningful text connections
• ✅ Strengthen comprehension through personal reflection
• ✅ Practise drawing and writing to communicate ideas
• ✅ Build understanding of text to self, text to text, and text to world connections
• ✅ Promote flexible thinking and deeper engagement with text

What’s Included:

• Drawing text to self, text to text, and text to world connections
• Drawing and describing text to self, text to text, and text to world connections
• Describing text to self, text to text, and text to world connections
• Venn diagram: Text to self connections
• Venn diagram: Text to text connections
• Venn diagram: Text to world connections
• Blank Venn diagram (flexible use)

Materials Needed:

• Printed The Very Cranky Bear: Making Connections worksheets
• Pencils, crayons, markers

How to Use:

1. Read The Very Cranky Bear with your class.
2. Discuss the three types of text connections with students (text to self, text to text, text to world).
3. Choose the worksheet format that best suits your students’ needs.
4. Students complete the chosen activity by drawing and/or writing their connections to the text.
5. Encourage students to share their connections with the class or display their work.

Ideas for Classroom Use:

• 💡 Use as an independent comprehension task after reading The Very Cranky Bear.
• 💡 Include in a literacy rotation for targeted comprehension practise.
• 💡 Use for assessment evidence of students’ ability to make text connections.
• 💡 Add to your relief folder as a no-prep literacy activity linked to a familiar text.

Top Teacher Tips:

• 💛 Enlarge worksheets to A3 for Early Years and Foundation students to provide more space for drawing and writing.
• 💛 Model examples of each type of connection before students begin the activity.
• 💛 Encourage students to explain their connections verbally as well as through drawing and writing.
• 💛 Use the blank Venn diagram flexibly to compare different aspects of the story or explore other cross-text connections.

The Very Cranky Bear: Making Connections is a flexible and engaging way to support students in building comprehension and deeper thinking. It’s the perfect addition to your literacy unit on this much-loved text!

Check out more amazing resources related to The Very Cranky Bear in our The Very Cranky Bear PACKAGE.

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