Definitions of comprehension on the Web:

 an ability to understand the meaning or importance of something (or the knowledge

acquired as a result); "how you can do that is beyond my comprehension"; "he was
famous for his comprehension of American literature"
 inclusion: the relation of comprising something; "he admired the inclusion of so many
ideas in such a short work"
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Act of or capacity for grasping with the intellect. The term is most often used in connection with
tests of reading skills and language abilities, though other abilities (e.g., mathematical reasoning)
may also be examined. Specialists in administering and interpreting such tests are known as
psychometricians (see psychometrics) or differential psychologists. See also dyslexia; laterality;
psychological testing; speech.

www.answers.com/topic/comprehension

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
  Hill, Bonnie Campbell, Ruptic, Cynthia & Norwick, Lisa. Classroom Based
Assessment. (1998). Christopher-Gordon Publishers, Inc., Norwood MA
 KWL
 KWL Chart Sample (in Word)
 KWL table
 KWHL Chart
 K-W-L Chart: Nonfiction or Informational Writing
 What Do You Know? Encouraging Inquiry-based Research
 Volcano KWLChart
 Use a KWL to Help Children Comprehend
 Using KWL to Introduce Inquiry
 KWL - A Reading Comprehension Strategy

Molly McLaughlin
The Franklin Institute
Philadelphia, PA
mollym@fi.edu
1994 ASTC Annual Conference
Portland, Oregon
October 16, 1994

K-W-L (What I Know, What I Want to Know, and What I Learned) is a

teaching model developed to encourage purposeful reading by
K: activating and organizing students' prior knowledge,
W: developing questions of personal interest to focus attention during
reading, and
L: summing up and reflecting on what was learned, if and how questions
were answered.
Ideas, questions, and results are recorded on a chart for the whole class or
for individual students.

KWL can also be used to facilitate science learning by

K: pulling together what students already know (or think they know),
W: helping to generate questions for investigation, and
L: summing up findings and further questions.

By providing a recognized "legitimate" structure, KWL may make some

teachers feel more comfortable about setting up explorations and
investigations even if they don't have specific directions for predetermined
demonstration experiments.
KWL is also a useful strategy for built-in assessment and planning. (See
"Performance Assessment: Five Practical Approaches" by Anne Grall Reichel
in Science and Children. October, 1994, p. 21-25.)

Sample KWL
What l/We Want to What I/We
Chart
Know Learned
What l/We Know

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?

Inquiry Approaches to Exploring Balls and Ramps

Below are some materials and strategies for inviting people to explore the
way things roll. A wide range of questions and problems may be explored,
depending on the variety of materials provided, the wording of initial
questions, and the interests of students.

Materials:
-Variety of balls, marbles, other rolling objects (cylinders, cars, etc.)
-Tubes: cardboard (paper towels, toilet paper, wrapping paper, etc.; some
cut lengthwise, some whole); plastic; other
-"Ramps": pieces of foam core, cardboard; boards or long blocks, etc.
- Blocks or other materials for support; masking tape, scissors.

1. K-W-L Strategy:
a. Ask students what they know about balls and how they roll; record
responses on a large chart headed "What we Know."
Depending on age of students, you might ask about the evidence they have
for what they know.
b. Under the next category, "What We Want to Know," record questions
students would like to find out about. Ask "How could we find out about
that?" "What would be evidence?" "Which questions could we find out about
using the materials we have here?"

c. Students plan and carry out investigations of their questions.

d. Record results in chart section headed "What We Learned."

Encourage students to recognize and record things they're still not sure
about, or new questions still to be explored.

2. Problem/Challenge: Use these materials to: make a ball move around a

corner, up a hill, down a ramp as slowly as possible. . .

3. Open Inquiry/Exploration: Find out whatever you can about how these
materials interact, how balls roll/bounce, what influences the speed and
distance of a rolling ball . . .

Reflection

What did you learn from this approach?

How would you compare your feelings/thoughts/experiences during

exploration with your feelings/thoughts/experiences during more traditional
learning experiences?

What do you think might be advantages and disadvantages of this approach

for teachers and students?

Reprinted with permission of the author.

Return to
Life Science Inquiry Activities
Institute for Inquiry Home

© 1996 Exploratorium, 3601 Lyon St., San Francisco, CA 94123

olc.spsd.sk.ca/DE/PD/instr/strats/kwl/
DRTA-Directed Reading Thinking Activity
Purpose:  This strategy is used to help students:

1.  determine the purpose for reading

2.  Use prediction when reading text
3.  Make decisions based on readings.
 

Rationale:  As students develop more strategies for reading, the more independent readers
they will become.
Procedure:
1.  Direct students to read the title and brainstorm what the story might be about.  Record
the answers on the board.
2.  Read first section.  Ask the students if their prediction was confirmed, rejected or
modified.  Only the student that made the prediction may change their answers.
3.  Repeat step 2 until the class has finished with the reading.
4.  Have the students justify their predictions by having them think aloud.
 
Strengths:
1. This helps develop critical reading skills.
2. Also helps students develop reading comprehension.
 
Weaknesses:
1. Only useful if students have not read or heard the text being used.
2. Classroom management may become a problem.
Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA)
Background
The Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a strategy that guides students in asking
questions about a text, making predictions, and then reading to confirm or refute their
predictions. The DRTA process encourages students to be active and thoughtful readers,
enhancing their comprehension.

Benefits
A DRTA may be used with an individual, a small group, or a whole class. This activity can be
easily adapted for a variety of subjects and reading levels. This strategy helps strengthen reading
and critical thinking skills. As the teacher guides the process, the DRTA teaches students to
determine the purpose for reading and make adjustments to what they think will come next based
on the text.

Create and use the strategy

Determine the text to be used and pre-select points for students to pause during the reading
process. The reading should be broken into small sections so that the students have time to think
about and process information. The amount of reading should be adjusted to fit the purpose and
the difficulty of the text. Introduce the text, the purpose of the DRTA and gives examples of how
to make predictions. Be aware of the reading levels of each student, and be prepared to provide
appropriate questions, prompts, and support as needed. Encourage students not to be intimidated
by taking a risk with predictions and not to feel pressure to state only correct predictions.

D - DIRECT - Teachers direct and stimulate students' thinking prior to reading a passage by
scanning the title, chapter headings, illustrations, and other explanatory materials. Then teachers
should use open-ended questions to direct students as they make predictions about the content or
perspective of the text (e.g., "Given this title, what do you think the passage will be about?").
Students should be encouraged to justify their responses and activate prior knowledge.

R - READING - Teachers should have students read up to the first pre-selected stopping point in
the text. The teacher then prompts the students with questions about specific information and
asks them to evaluate their predictions and refine them if necessary. This process should be
continued until students have read each section of the passage.

T - THINKING - At the end of the reading, teachers should have students go back through the
text and think about their predictions. Students should verify or modify the accuracy of their
predictions by finding supporting statements in the text. The teacher deepens the thinking
process by asking questions such as:

 What do you think about your predictions now?

 What did you find in the text to prove your predictions?
 What did you find in the text that caused you to modify your predictions?

NOTE: Writing may be included as part of the DRTA. As students become more comfortable
with this strategy, have each student write predictions in a learning log or on a piece of paper.
Then, in small groups, students can discuss their predictions and share their thinking processes.
Next ask students to write summary statements about how their predictions compared to the
passage.

Further reading
 http://www.teachervision.fen.com/skill-builder/reading/48610.html?for_printing=1
 http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/English/shared/Directed%20Reading%20Thinking.pdf
 http://www.justreadnow.com/strategies/drta.htm

Research citations
Jennings, C. & Shepherd, J. (1998). Literacy and the key learning areas: successful classroom
strategies. Eleanor Curtain Publishing.

Lenski, Susan D., Wham, Mary Ann, & Johns, Jerry L. (1999). Reading and learning strategies
for middle and high school students. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.

Murdoch, K. (1998). Classroom Connections: Strategies for Integrated Learning. Eleanor

Curtain Publishing.

Stauffer, R. G. (1969). Directing reading maturity as a cognitive process. New York: Harper &
Row.

The Directed Reading Thinking Activity (DRTA) is a comprehension strategy that guides
students in asking questions about a text, making predictions, and then reading to confirm or
refute their predictions. The DRTA process encourages students to be active and thoughtful
readers, enhancing their comprehension
Assessment is defined as the process of observing and measuring learning. In order to improve
student learning, teachers evaluate students' achievement levels.

What is Assessment?

Assessment is an ongoing process of setting high expectations for student learning, measuring
progress toward established learning outcomes, and providing a basis for reflection,
discussion and feedback to improve University academic programs. It is a
systematic and cyclic process that makes expectations and standards explicit
and public.

Four benefits derived from classroom assessment

This gives the teacher feedback about the students’ progression in learning in class.
This makes it easier for the teacher to know whether the strategies used help the
enhancement of students learning.
This aids with the learning styles of students
This makes it easier for teacher to identify students behaviour toward class