Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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Emil Atkins
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1 The Cloze Procedure Purpose Originated by Taylor (1953), a Cloze passage contains systematically deleted words. The Cloze procedure is used to (1) determine what students already know about a given topic and (2) to assess the suitability of a new text for students by testing their prior knowledge and language competence as they attempt to fill in the deletions. Using the Procedure Make copies of the passage provided (the one with blanks) and distribute one to each student. Emphasize the following oral directions to your students: - Supply only one word for each blank. - Encourage guessing students should try to fill all the blanks. - Misspellings will be considered correct as long as the word is recognizable. - The test will not be timed. - Before beginning the activity, silently read through the entire text. I will then read it aloud to you before you begin. Scoring the Test Use the following steps to determine each student s raw score: - Count only exact replacements as correct. Synonyms are considered incorrect. - Misspellings are the only exception to the above rule. Do not penalize the student for spelling mistakes. - Inappropriate word endings are incorrect. - The raw score will be the number of correct answers for each student. Classifying Student Performance on the Test To find the percentage for the student, double the raw score (for example, if there are 35 correct replacements, 35 x 2 = 70%). Use the chart below to interpret scores. Independent Level 60% - 100% Material is too Easy Instructional Level 40% - 60% Material is About Right Frustration Level 0% - 40% Material is too Difficult

2 Cloze Procedure Key Dear Lanyon, -- You are one of my oldest friends; and although we may have differed at times on scientific questions, I cannot remember, at least on my side, any break in our affection. There was never a day when, if you had said to me, Jekyll, my life, my honour, my reason, depend upon you, I would not have sacrificed my fortune or my left hand to help you. Lanyon, my life, my honour, my reason, are all at your mercy; if you fail me to-night, I am lost. You might suppose, after this preface, that I am going to ask you for something dishonourable to grant. Judge for yourself. I want you to postpone all other engagements for to-night ay, even if you were summoned to the bedside of an emperor; to take a cab, unless your carriage should be actually at the door; and, with this letter in your hand for consultation, to drive straight to my house. Poole, my butler, has his orders; you will find him waiting your arrival with a locksmith. The door of my cabinet is then to be forced; and you are to go in alone; to open the glazed press on the left hand, breaking the lock if it be shut; and to draw out, with all its contents as they stand, the fourth drawer from the top or (which is the same thing) the third from the bottom. In my extreme distress of mind, I have a morbid fear of misdirecting you; but even if I am in error, you may know the right drawer by its contents: some powders, a phial, and a paper book. This drawer I beg of you to carry back with you to Cavendish Square exactly as it stands.

3 Name: Instructions: Read through the entire passage once. Then re-read the passage and attempt to fill each blank with a word you think the author may have used. Use only one word for each blank. Dear Lanyon, You are one of my oldest friends; and although we may have differed at times on scientific questions, I cannot remember, at least on my side, any in our affection. There never a day when, you had said to, Jekyll, my life, my, my reason, depend upon, I would not have my fortune or my hand to help you., my life, my honour, reason, are all at mercy; if you fail to-night, I am lost. might suppose, after this, that I am going ask you for something to grant. Judge for. I want you to all other engagements for ay, even if you summoned to the bedside an emperor; to take cab, unless your carriage be actually at the ; and, with this letter your hand for consultation, drive straight to my. Poole, my butler, has orders; you will find waiting

4 your arrival with locksmith. The door of cabinet is then to forced; and you are go in alone; to the glazed press on left hand, breaking the if it be shut; to draw out, with its contents as they, the fourth drawer from top or (which is same thing) the third the bottom. In my distress of mind, I a morbid fear of you; but even if am in error, you know the right drawer its contents: some powders, phial, and a paper book. This drawer I beg of you to carry back with you to Cavendish Square exactly as it stands.

5 Reflection This will be an important pre-assessment reading tool for future students. It will be most applicable to give the test before reading the book. It can serve as an important measurement tool to know which students may struggle with comprehension and which students will need more of a challenge. It will be most useful to apply the strategy toward the beginning of reading the novel. Because the given selection is from one of the ending chapters, it could even be applied after students have read the first few chapters. This strategy will help the teacher understand the reading level of the students and will specifically target this book in particular, showing whether the book is too challenging, too simple, or just right for the students. I think this strategy will be very effective. When I gave the test to a group of friends, I told them it was just an exercise and not a test, but that it would help me understand their reading better. Because it was challenging (and probably because it felt like a test) they tried their hardest and really thought about what they were doing. I think this kind of pre-assessment really brings out the best of students intellectual abilities, and will help truly measure the effectiveness of this book in helping them learn. Another aspect of this procedure that I really like is its application as a good introduction to the given text. I chose the particular selection with this application in mind. I like the idea of giving the test, and then going back over it with students and reading, this time for story instead of word choice. It s a good suspenseful passage in which Jekyll pleads with his friend for help. It creates a nice opportunity to introduce students to main characters, a main theme, and the main conflict of the text. It can also help them start apply other basic reading strategies as they learn to make predictions (i.e. What could possibly call everything Jekyll holds dear into question? How do you think Lanyon responds when he receives this plea? How would you respond if a friend sent you this same kind of letter?). With this introduction, students would then begin reading the book already emotionally attached to the characters, with an opinion about what will happen, and with an even stronger opinion of what they think should happen. All of these help students understand and care about their reading. This strategy also presents an opportunity to introduce the importance of vocabulary for this particular text as well. This book, because of its intended 19 th century audience, features some unique vocabulary that may confuse students. However, using this passage as a start, teachers can demonstrate the importance of using a provided vocabulary sheet or dictionary to identify confusing words (and wording) and understand their important influence on the story.

3. Using graphic organizers is an effective way to help students make connections among words.

3. Using graphic organizers is an effective way to help students make connections among words. 38 CHAPTER 5 Vocabulary and Concepts PURPOSE The purpose of this chapter is to foster an understanding that teaching words well means giving students multiple opportunities to learn how words are conceptually