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What
is K-W-L?
Know - Want to Know - Learned
K-W-L
is an introductory strategy that provides a structure for recalling
what students know about a topic, noting what students want to know,
and finally listing what has been learned and is yet to be learned.
What
is its purpose?
The
K-W-L strategy allows students to take inventory of what they already
know and what they want to know. Students can categorize information
about the topic that they expect to use.
How
can I do it?
- On
the chalkboard, on an overhead, on a handout, or on students'
individual clean sheets, three columns should be drawn.
- Label
Column 1 K, Column 2 W, Column 3 L.
- Before
reading, students fill in the Know column with everything they
already know about the topic. This helps generate their background
knowledge.
- Then
have students predict what they might learn about the topic, which
might follow a quick glance at the topic headings, pictures, and
charts that are found in the reading. This helps set their purpose
for reading and focuses their attention on key ideas.
- Alternatively,
you might have students put in the middle column what they want
to learn about the topic.
-
After
reading, students should fill in their new knowledge gained
from reading the content. They can also clear up misperceptions
about the topic which might have shown up in the Know column
before they actually read anything. This is the stage of metacognition:
did they get it or not?
How
can I adapt it?
Hill,
et. al. (1998) have modified the K-W-L chart to include a fourth
column at the end, W for "Further Wanderings." In their
K-W-L-W chart, this column is for students to pose new questions
they have as a result of their research. They also suggest that
the first column be filled in individually first and then knowledge
and questions from the entire class are pooled second. Throughout
the unit, students add to the columns as they encounter new information.
Different colored markers or pencils can be used to visually represent
new learning. Margaret Mooney suggests adding a fifth column, H,
(K-W-H-L-W) for "How" the students intend to gather the
information once they've determined what they need to learn. The
K-W-L chart (and its modifications) helps students organize their
thoughts about a topic.
Possible
additions to chart and/or topics for discussion:
- What
we think we know, but aren't sure about
- What's
our evidence for what we know
- How
we might find out what we want to know (what would be evidence?)
- What
could we find out by interacting with or observing the materials/phenomena,
rather than by reading or asking experts?
- What
questions do we still have?
Assessment
& Evaluation Considerations
- Observe
students' ability to focus on a topic or task in a group situation.
- Note
students' participation in the oral expression of ideas.
- Monitor
listening behaviours. (Do students take turns speaking? Do they
ask for clarifications?)
- Periodically
record students' oral language strengths, weaknesses and development
in their files.
Teacher
Resources
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