Cloze Passage Wizard Contents

• Cloze Passage Wizard Installation Disk
  
• Cloze Passage Wizard Manual On Disk
  
• Other Rush Software Titles Advertising
  
• Warranty & Registration Card
  

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Hard Disk Installation

Macintosh

To install Cloze Passage Wizard on a Hard Disk, insert the Cloze Passage Wizard disk in any drive and double-click on the "CLOZE" disk icon. Drag the "CLOZE WIZARD" drawer onto your Hard Disk. (You have now copied the program from the floppy disk to your Hard Disk. Store the master disk in a safe place or even make a copy of the disk to serve as a backup. Replacement disks will cost you $10 plus postage)

To load Cloze Passage Wizard simply open the "CLOZE WIZARD" drawer and double-click on the "CLOZE" program icon.

IBM Compatible Machines
Start Windows
Insert disk into drive A:
From the Program Manager select the File Menu and choose RUN
Type A :\Setup and press Enter
Follow the installation instructions and a new program group and icons will be installed. Double-click the CLOZE program icon to start.
Windows 95 users should choose ñAdd New Programî from the Control Panels

OVERVIEW

A Cloze passage is a reading passage in which the words have been systematically removed. The reader is asked to fill in the spaces with an appropriate replacement word.

Cloze procedure forces students to use their understanding of syntax, grammar and semantics (meaning) to make meaningful guesses about the missing word. It slows down the reading so that students concentrate on the meaning of the text.

Cloze Passage Wizard is a powerful teaching utility that allows for quick and easy production of cloze passage exercises and a range of other language based worksheets.

Students often need to see text in a range of different formats to fully understand the meaning of terms and phrases used. Cloze Passage Wizard follows in the footsteps of our highly successful Cloze Passage Wizard, giving Teachers a similarly easy to use interface and professional printouts. Cloze Passage Wizard features;

• The ability to add your favourite graphics to illustrate your passage
  
• View wordlist and passage on screen
  
• Reset the passage anytime
  
• Export/Import Cloze or Text as a text file to and from a word processor
  
• Enhanced printouts
  
• Fully control of Font selection and Sizes
  
• Print Preview with automatic formatting
  
• Automatically extract every nth word
  
• Selection of individual words or every occurrence of a word for removal
  
• Create custom lists for removal from the passage
  
• 12 quality Cloze worksheet printouts from the one passage
  
  1. Cloze Passage with wordlist
     
  2. Cloze Passage without wordlist
     
  3. Cloze Passage with extra words in wordlist
     
  4. Cloze Cover Up
     
  5. Cloze Scramble
     
  6. Cloze rewrite
     
  7. Cloze Jumble
     
  8. Cloze Meanings
     
  9. Cloze Punctuation
     
  10. Cloze Alternate words
      
  11. Cloze Nonsense words
      
  12. Cloze Readability Measure
      
      

Ideally suited to LOTE, English and all language intensive subject areas

TEACHING STRATEGIES

In Cloze passages, words may be deleted on the basis of:

• fixed ratio eg every 7th word
  
• variable rating eg words are deleted from predetermined criteria such as content words or classifying adjectives. [Remember that lists of words can be created and saved in Cloze Passage Wizard and be removed automatically]
  
• groups of words, phrases or sentences are deleted, requiring students to focus on the overall pattern and meaning of the text to replace them.
  

When using Cloze as a teaching strategy remember that Dependent Readers cope best with Cloze where 1 word in every 12 - 15 words is removed. Less Dependent Readers cope with best with Cloze where 1 word in every 8 - 10 words is removed and Independent Readers cope best with Cloze where 1 word in every 5 - 8 words is removed.

Points to remember:

• Provide a meaningful context for the cloze.
  
• Have a clear purpose in mind and create the cloze accordingly.
  
• At least the first and last sentence should be left intact to provide a context for the reader.
  
• Use the range of worksheets provided in Cloze Passage Wizard to cater for groups of students with different needs.
  
• It is important to have students compare their solutions with other student solutions, to discuss and justify their selections.
  
• Before students are asked to engage in the cloze activity independently of the teacher they need to be shown how to go about doing a cloze passage. During initial stages the teacher should work with students going through the following steps whilst impressing upon them that they will do the same when they attempt the activity in small groups.
  
  
  1. Include and discuss any graphics that will assist the context
     
  2. Read the Title - discuss what the text will be about
     
  3. Read all the passage and hum whenever there is a gap
     
  4. Begin again and read to the first gap
     
  5. Guess the word for the gap. Discuss your choice
     
  6. If you canÍt think of a word for a gap leave it out and come back to it later. There may be a clue further on in the passage.
     
     
• Print the Cloze Passage and Solution to the passage on an Overhead Transparency to allow for a class walk-through and easy marking.
  

Creating a Cloze

To create a cloze passage follow these steps;

1. Select NEW to clear any currently displayed cloze
   
   
2. Select Edit Cloze Text
   
   
3. You can either begin entering text or open a previously created text file. When your passage is complete select Continue.
   
   
4. The text will be displayed in the Cloze window and the words from the cloze will be displayed in the list on the right hand side.
   
   
5. Clicking on the words in the list will toggle them as selected or unselected, enabling you to select the words to be removed from the cloze. Clicking on the word a second time replaces the word in the passage. There are a number of tools to help you remove words efficiently from the passage. You can remove every nth word automatically, remove every occurrence of a word or remove a custom list that you have created. This can all be achieved at the click of a button.
   
   
6. After you have selected your words you can change the save the Cloze Passage and then print the cloze using a variety of layouts and styles.
   

Menu/Button Options

New Cloze
Select this option to clear the currently displayed cloze. You will be asked
if you want to clear the cloze. Select YES to clear the cloze or NO to
continue working with the currently displayed cloze.

Open Cloze

When selected, a dialog box will appear asking you to select a file from the list of clozes. Select a file and click on OK to open the cloze.

Save Cloze

When selected, the current cloze will be saved. If there is no filename for
The cloze, a dialog box will appear asking you to enter a filename. Enter a
filename and click OK. The cloze will be saved under that filename.

Save Text
When selected the text of the current cloze can be saved as a text file. You may wish to do this if you want to import the file into a wordprocessor. A dialog box will appear asking you to enter a filename. Enter a filename and click OK. The text will be saved under that filename.

Save as...
Use this option to save the cloze under a different filename.

Print Cloze

Use this option to print your cloze. A new window will open with various print options available. See the Print Page Options further in the manual for full details.

Font Selection

Select this option to change the font for the cloze. A font dialog box will open. Select your font style and select OK. Macintosh users just select a font from the menu. You may need to experiment with different font styles and sizes to determine the most suitable for your needs and student abilities.

Create Custom List

Allows you to create a custom list of words for extraction from the passage. Enter words into the field, pressing Enter or selecting Add. You can edit any word in the list by clicking on it, or cycle through your wordlist by selecting Next or Previous. Select Save to save your list. Enter a name for the list and then click on OK. The list will then be saved under that filename. You can then apply the words in the custom list to your cloze, removing those words from the cloze.


Edit Custom List

Allows you to edit a Custom List. Enter or edit words as described in the Create section. Select Save to save your wordlist.

Edit Cloze Text
Allows you to edit the current cloze passage text or in the case of a new cloze, create the text for your cloze passage. Please note that if you edit the text all words that are are currently removed will be replaced.

Remove specified word

Allows you to specify a word to be removed from the cloze. All occurrences of that word are removed from the passage. Enter the word to be removed in the field and press Enter. The word is case sensitive. For example, if you enter "the" it will only remove that word not "The" or "THE".

Remove every nth word

Allows you to remove every nth word in the passage. Enter the number to remove and every nth word will be removed. For example if you want to remove every 5th word enter 5.

Use Custom List

Select this option to apply your previously created custom list to the current cloze passage. The words, also case sensitive, will be removed from the cloze passage.

Help

Opens this Help File. If you wish to find a specific word in the Help topics, enter the word in the find field and press Enter. If the word exists it will be displayed IN RED along with the appropriate topic. Pressing Enter again will find the next occurrence of the word. You can also print the currently displayed topic at any time.

Quit
Select this option to quit the Cloze Passage Wizard.

Reset Selections
Select this option to clear the selected words in your cloze passage.


Print Page Options

When you arrive at this screen you are presented with a sample worksheet of a standard cloze. Clicking on any of the 12 worksheet buttons on the right will present you with a sample of that worksheet. Use the Print Preview button to view your text as a worksheet. You can add graphics or change the size of your font by selecting the appropriate buttons.

Layouts
There are four layouts available for most of the worksheet styles;

1. Standard - a standard cloze passage with no graphic
   
2. Graphic Left - the cloze has a graphic in the top left
   
3. Graphic Right - the cloze has a graphic in the top right
   
4. Graphic Double - the cloze has a graphic in the top left and right
   

Select the layout to use and a preview will be displayed in the centre of the screen. To place a graphic, double click on the graphic box and then select a bitmap file to use. Some sample graphics are included. We recommend using the range of educational clip art available from New Horizons. You can change an existing graphic by double-clicking on it.

Buttons
Print - Prints the currently displayed cloze
Print Preview - Displays a 100% view of your worksheet
Clear Graphic - Clears the graphic in the box/boxes
Close - Closes the print window and returns to the Creator Page
Help - Displays this help file
Font - Allows you to change the font and size being used in the cloze

Help
Opens this Help File. If you wish to find a specific word in the Help
topics, enter the word in the find field and press Enter. If the word
exists it will be displayed IN RED along with the appropriate topic.
Pressing Enter again will find the next occurrence of the word. You can
also print the currently displayed topic at any time.


Cloze Worksheet Styles
There are twelve styles to choose from. Clicking on a style will display a preview of the style, plus a short description of the style will be written in the box at the bottom right side of the screen. Also check the manual for sample copies of all worksheets.

1. Cloze Passage with wordlist - This is a standard Cloze with the words that have been removed placed in a wordlist below the passage in a random order.
   
2. Cloze Passage without wordlist - This Cloze has the words removed but no wordlist, allowing students to place any suitable word into the spaces in the passage.
   
3. Cloze Passage with extra words in wordlist - Similar to Worksheet 1 except there are more words than necessary in the wordlist. A useful option for more able students.
   
4. Cloze Cover Up - This worksheet presents the passage with the bottom half of each word missing. Students must rewrite the passage by recognising the tops of the words. You will need to experiment with different fonts and sizes to get a font that presents the worksheet properly. Some unusual fonts will not be appropriate for this worksheet.
   
5. Cloze Scramble - Instead of removing the words from the passage the words are left in place and the letters scrambled. Students must first underline the scrambled words in the passage and then unscramble them in the space provided below the passage.
   
6. Cloze Rewrite - This worksheet requires students to retell the passage in their own words but still keep the meaning of the passage.
   
7. Cloze Jumble - The passage is divided into strips and jumbled. Students are required to cut the strips out and reassemble the passage in the correct order, perhaps they could glue them in their books or onto another sheet.
   
8. Cloze Meanings - The selected words are left in the passage and underlined. Students are to rewrite the words below the passage and then write their meanings in context to the passage.
   
9. Cloze Punctuation - This worksheet removes all the punctuation from the passage. It leaves the Capital letters of sentences in place. Students should use a red pen to replace the punctuation in the passage.
   
10. Cloze Alternate words - The selected words are left in the passage and underlined. Students are to rewrite the words below the passage and then write a synonym for each word.
    
11. Cloze Nonsense words - The passage has additional words inserted. Students must identify and remove the words. An excellent worksheet for testing proof reading.
    
12. Cloze Readability Measure - This worksheet is designed to test if a text is suitable for students to read. Enter approximately 250 words from the proposed text. You will be asked to remove every 5th or 7th word from the passage. The first and last sentences are left in tact. Students are asked to complete the passage so that it makes sense. The answers are marked and scored as a percentage. Their answers must convey the meaning of the text/concepts, not necessarily the exact word or the correct spelling.
    
    
13. Rate their scores on this scale:
    

0 - 43% correct - Student cannot read the material with any understanding or fluency. Alternative material should be used.

44% - 60% correct - Students can handle the material with help

61% - 100% correct - Students have little or no difficulty with the material.