K-W-L

Type of Literacy:

Reading Comprehension (pre-reading and post-reading) and Writing

Reading Level:

All Secondary Reading Levels; Based on how the Know-Want to Know-Learned (KWL) is used in the class, students at lower reading levels or ELs might have more in the K column to start, but this is a good gauge for the teacher and the student to see how much they learn in the lesson regardless of what other people do. For ELs and lower reading levels, they have the ability to still add lots to the L column and that will be more meaningful than comparing the K column to others.

Prep Time:

2-5 min. (Choosing the topic)

K-W-L Chart in Use -

• Give students handouts with KWL on the top in different columns. Ask students to fill out the K and W before a unit or a reading.
• After the lesson/reading, have students work in pairs or individually to answer the L column of what they have learned.
• Ask students leading questions for each column of the chart, such as, “What do you already ‘know’ about this topic?” “What things do you ‘want’ to learn about the topic, so you can focus your research?” and “What did you ‘learn’ from doing your research?”
• As the year goes on, you will need to supply less questions as students can start to create their own KWL charts in their notebooks without needed handouts.