Simple Completion (words)

Completing a word in a sentence. Usually affixes prefixes & suffixes. Missing syllables.

Steps in Preparing Simple Completions

1) List the prefixes and suffixes that you have taught to your students and then match these with content words that they have studied. 2) Prepare sentences that clarify the meaning of these words. 3) Then write your instructions and examples.

Vocabulary Choice
Choose familiar vocabulary but vary the affixes. E.g. listen She is a good listen___.

Context Preparation
The question needs to be in context and ask what it intends to ask. e.g. This is a nice draw__. Test whether students know when not to add an affix. e.g. Can you check my spell___? How do you spell___ this?

Instruction Preparation
1) Complete the words in the sentences. When nothing is needed, put an X in the blank. 2) Read the sentences completely carefully. Most have a word that is missing. Some words do not need anything added. When you find such a word, put an X in the blank. Blanks left empty will be marked wrong. Give examples for students who have not done simple completion before.

Alternate Forms
1) Stem-first procedure. e.g. (read) I am read__ a novel. 2) Phrasal context. e.g. Teacher asked us to write___ an essay.

3) Compounds. e.g.

Cont
4) Inflectional cloze. e.g.

Today, my teach__ asked us to draw__ a tree. First, she gave an __ planation on how to draw it. Then she asked us to paint__ the tree together.

Advantages & Limitations

Advantages 1) It reflects teaching approaches. 2) It is generally faster and easier to construct than are items with distractors. Limitations 1) Fewer words can be tested this way than with multiple choice. 2) There is some difficulty in avoiding unclear contexts.