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In this tutorial, we show you how to preview a topic using a word cloud. We chose to use Wordclouds.com because its options in the free version are more than enough for what we need.


Previewing a topic is a strategy that we use to recall prior knowledge and set a purpose for reading.


Before opening the word cloud tool you’ll need to prepare a list of words related to the topic. You may want to choose words from a text or words that will get students to brainstorm about the topic. In this example, we chose words about a topic to prepare students to read a text.


1. When you’re ready, select and copy the words in your list.
2. From the Word list drop-down - Select Extract words from Text and paste your words in the space provided. They can be in a column or in a line separated by commas.
3. To make sure words don’t get separated in the word cloud, add a hyphen between the 2 words, as shown here.
4. From the Word list drop-down - select Edit.
5. Choose the weight you want to give to each word (the bigger the weight, the bigger the word will appear in the word cloud).
6. Modify the weight of words to make them bigger than others if needed.
7. Select the Shape, Fonts, Colors (don’t forget that your choices will influence how accessible it will be to students).
8. You also have other options to adjust the visual like separate words to make them more readable.
9. Next, prepare questions to activate students’ prior knowledge.
1. Which words do you know?
2. What do you think is the subject?
3. What do you know about this topic?
4. Do you know other words related to this topic?


Strategies developed by students during this activity are
● Predicting
● Using prior knowledge
● Inferencing
There are other word cloud tools that exist. Choose the one you prefer and follow the same process.


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