Cloze Activities Build Comprehension
Have you tried cloze technique to build reading comprehension? The idea is simple: Efficient readers actually don’t read every word in a passage. They make predictions and then check their expectations against the text that is actually there. The more effective the predictions, the less frequently the reader needs to stop and actually decode the text. In the cloze technique, words are actually left out of the passage. If the reader is comprehending well, the blanks are easily filled in with correct words. Make the task more or less difficult by adjusting the frequency of the blanks or by choosing the words to leave out. You can also offer a word bank with correct choices to insert in each blank spot.
Cloze activities help students with their prediction strategies. They can also be used as a measure of comprehension. The method is easy to implement; you simply need a passage of text that is at the level of difficulty that you wish to assess or work with. Retype the passage, leaving a blank in place of the words you choose to omit. Some activities work well by omitting every nth word (8th or 10th, for example). Other passages lend themselves to omission of nouns or verbs.
Cloze exercises are also a great way to help students prepare for tests and quizzes over given reading material. By filling in the missing words, readers must process and comprehend the text, making it easier to recall for the upcoming quiz.