What’s Cloze Reading Strategy?
The cloze reading strategy is when you have a paragraph and take out key words you want students to learn. This is a great way for learners to establish context with fill in the blank activities. Rather than doing fill in the blank in isolation.
Examples of a cloze reading
In the photo above, you see an example cloze reading of a conversation in Spanish. Prior to giving my students this cloze reading activity we did a lot of practice with the vocabulary. However, if this is too difficult for my students we will work on it as a whole group. I’ll discuss ways to search for context clues when reading in a foreign language and ways to utilize their inference skills.
Cloze reading benefits
There are myriad benefits of cloze reading.
- Providing context when doing assessments
- Using context clues to improve comprehension
- Practice inferencing skills
- Assessing language skills for language learners
Should I provide a word bank?
In most cases, I would provide students with a word bank. Perhaps if students are gifted they might like the challenge of not having a word bank.
Which words should I omit in the cloze passage?
Be mindful when choosing which words to omit in a cloze reading passage. I typically omit words that are part of the unit vocabulary, phrases or expressions, and/or grammar. I make it challenging, but there is always a context clue or a way for them to infer what word goes in the blank space.
Creating a cloze reading passage
To create your first cloze reading passage you could use a passage from something you’ve read in class before or create something based on the unit you’re studying. The passage shouldn’t be longer than the student’s grade level. If they’re in 7th grade, have no more than 7 sentences. This is true for dictation, too. You could also omit 7 words if they’re in 7th grade, but be mindful of your classes abilities. If they are struggling learners, perhaps omit 4 to 5 words.
Want more lesson ideas?
Grab my template for Spanish lessons here. I provide 20 ideas for whole group, small group and independent practice along with a template for writing your lessons
