Connection Making - Character Trait Focus

Parents, we share this as one of our series on Character Traits for success.  Making connections is something that can happen at home as well.

We know that certain character traits help us be successful in learning and in life.  These next couple weeks we will be focusing on the character trait of "connection making."  Great learners are always making connections.  We think of examples.  We compare what we are learning now to other things we have learned or experienced.  Connection makers are constantly comparing and contrasting.  You might hear a connection maker say something like, "Oh, that is like that one time when ...."

Here’s the deal.  When we make connections between new ideas and other knowledge we already have, it helps the knowledge to stick in our memories.  Our brains need connections to make things stick and make sense.  A connection maker will automatically begin comparing stories with each other.  They will try to compare multiplication with addition and then will compare multiplication with division and division with fractions.  They will compare what they read today with what they heard their grandpa say about something.  There are so many fun ways to make connections.

Be a connection maker.  It makes learning more fun and makes you a better learner.