KWL Chart/KWHL Chart**
Background: A KWL chart is a three-column graphic organizer. Students generate ideas for each column: What I Know, What I Want to Know, and What I Learned.
Procedures: Create a chart that separates a page into
three-columns. Write the KWL headings for each section. Introduce the
topic for study. Ask students to share their prior knowledge of the topic.
Have students generate relevant questions to research. After collecting
information, use the third column for summarizing facts learned.
Variations: *KWHL: Use a four-column organizer: What I Know, What I Want to Know, How I Will Find Information (list resources that can be utilized to collect information about the topic), and What I Learned.
Reading Strategies: Make Predictions, Ask Questions, Set Purposes for Reading, Activate Prior Knowledge, Build Vocabulary, Make Connections, Classify Information, Summarize Main Ideas and Support Details, Draw Conclusions, Synthesize Information
For advice on using this inquiry-based learning strategy
as a pre-assessment tool, visit: KWL
Charts in our Assessment Strategies and Tools section.