Using WORDS

Words are one key element of language education. We use new words and new vocabulary. We must learn how to write the words, how to pronounce the word, word meanings, word combination (and grammar); word structures....

Two simple ways we can look at words with free online tools are:

1. To support reading comprehension
2. To write new stories

To ease reading comprehension with our students and review large amounts of content I use a simple tool called WORD CLOUDS. Find out more on another page of my blogs:

• Word Clouds (SLIC2010) 
• Word Clouds for the HL Classroom

To create your own word cloud go to: www.wordle.net .
I use these for different activities with students:

1. See what key words come out of a text
2. See what new words I have to teach to help students read a text
3. To review key messages from a text

The clouds show a visual support for visual learners - so I know I meet different learning styles.

Find below an example of different word clouds I created for this blog (it takes about 5 minutes once you have the test).

Example one: Word Cloud from this Blog




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Example two: Word cloud from Guatemala Legend (Spanish)



The words in this cloud were taken from a sample reading at the link provided here.

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Example three: Word cloud about Alberta
This word cloud was created using text from this page: Alberta Wiki Travel. used under CC permission.