CLOZE

**CLOZE**

**Content** This strategy can improve students’ comprehension, use context clues, and better vocabulary comprehension. **Grade Level** CLOZE can be used throughout the grade levels, whether the student is just learning to read or is trying to broaden vocabulary. Typically, it is used with primary and intermediate grade levels, however. **Curriculum Standards** 6th Grade: RLA.O.6.1.3: use a variety of strategies to increase grade-appropriate // vocabulary // (e.g., etymology, context clues, affixes, synonyms, antonyms)

8th Grade: RLA.O.8.1.3: use etymology, context clues, affixes, synonyms or antonyms to increase grade appropriate // vocabulary //.

**Description of Practices** CLOZE is implemented by covering important words in a story and having the students use prior knowledge and context clues to predict the hidden words.
 * 1) Begin by choosing a book that is considered to be of comfort level.
 * 2) Do not cover words at the beginning of the story. This will allow the students to gain some background knowledge before jumping into the strategy.
 * 3) Using sticky notes, cover words that could be predictable to students. Cover words that have significant meaning such as nouns and verbs (i.e. do not cover pronouns, prepositions, etc).
 * 4) Be careful to not cover more than one word per every couple of sentences, as it may be too difficult to form meanings for the reader.
 * 5) Have the students predict the word by directing them to think about context clues, previously known information, pictures, what would make the most sense, etc.
 * 6) It is okay for the students to not predict the exact word. Accept synonyms that make sense in the story.
 * 7) Do not uncover the word once you are ready to move on. If the word that the students predicted fit correctly, it is considered to be correct.

**Implementation Considerations** The Cloze strategy can be used with students learning to read and struggling readers. It is typically not useful when being used with already efficient readers. It can be used with individual students or with a group of students, as shown in the example below.

**Example** The follow is an example of the CLOZE strategy. In this example, the strategy is used with a young grade level during a shared reading lesson. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IuEu4xT8pw

**Citation** Mowey, S., Conahan, P., & Instructional Support System of Pennsylvania, E. g. (1995). //Reading/Writing Comprehension Strategies//.