Reading component Comprehension
Related Standard(s) of Learning K.8 1.9, 2.8, 3.6, 4.5, 5.6
Overview of the strategy
A KWL (Know, Want, Learn) was described by Ogle in 1986 as a framework that is used to connect a
student’s prior knowledge to what they are actively learning. The student begins by thinking about what
they already Knowabout the topic of study. Next, they think about what they Want to know, and
finally, they actively Learn something new about the topic. The students can do this activity
independently, with minimal guidance from the teacher, or it can be a teacher directed activity.
1. Choose a subject of study.
2. Create a table with three columns and two rows — one row for the headings and one larger one in which to
write. Label the first column with a K for “What I Know,” the second with a W for “What I Want to know,”
and the third with an L for “What I Learned.”
3. Brainstorm ideas that the students think they know about the topic. Write those ideas under the K column.
4. Brainstorm things that the students want to know about the topic. Write those ideas under the W column.
5. Next, study the topic. The students can read a chapter, conduct research, or participate in any other active
learning strategy. The students then discuss and write down what they learned in the L column.
Variations
1. A KWHL is a framework similar to a KWL that explores what the students Know about a topic, what they
Want to know about the topic, How they will explore the topic, and what they Learned about the topic. In
this framework students include a fourth column in which they write down how they will explore the topic.
The students may use an encyclopedia, read a book, or conduct research on the Internet.
Source
· D. M. Ogle, “A Teaching model that develops active reading of expository text,” The Reading
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