Web Resource: Word Clouds

A word cloud is a visual depiction of the main words and ideas of a text. Word clouds evolved from Tag Clouds, which are commonly used to depict the content of websites.

Wordle.net is a free (and addictive) way to create Word Clouds. A teacher or student simply needs to copy and paste text, select font and display preferences, and Wordle generates a word cloud. Here are some examples:

• The Declaration of Independence
• NCSS's National Standards for Social Studies Teachers
• This blog entry

This fantastic interactive page from The New York Times uses world clouds to guide readers through every inaugural address by a U.S. President.

Word clouds are no substitute for the actual reading of a text, but they can provide a powerful visual preview of text and aid students in making predictions and forming questions.

Strategy: Making Predications

If you've ever read to children, you've probably found yourself asking them before you turn the page, "What do you think is going to happen?" No doubt, the children were happy to respond with enthusiastic guesses about what was to come.

Dan Gilbert writes that the human brain is constantly making predictions about what is to come in the near and distant future. It is no surprise that nurturing this instinct in readers will help them gain a more complete understanding from the text in front of them.

This Education World page contains an example of using predictions for younger students. This site contains a treasure trove of links to other prediction lessons, including this one, a Directed Listening-Thinking Activity on Poe's The Tell-Tale Heart.