KWL Chart

Description:
A KWL Chart tracks what students Know about a topic before the teacher begins a unit on that
topic, what they Want to know about that topic, and then what they have Learned at the end of
the learning day.

Directions:
Here is a step by step guide to using a KWL Chart:
1. Create the KWL chart. You need one column for what the students already know, what
they want to know, and what they learn.
2. Have the student complete column one, by telling the teacher what they know.
3. Complete column two by asking students to tell you what they want to know.
4. Explore the topic of study.
5. At the end of the lesson or unit, have the students tell you what they’ve learned to
complete the third column.

When to Use This Strategy:

The best times to use this strategy would be:
1. The beginning of a new unit.
2. When introducing new topics within a unit.
3. At the beginning of the school year to gain what students may already know about a
subject. Then it can be looked at again at the end of the year to see how students grew
during the school year.

Variations:
Here are some variations of this strategy:
1. Create the KWL chart, where students add to it as they explore the topic. They can add to
the Want to Know sections as they come up with more questions and the Learned section
as they learn new things about the topic. You can do this by creating a poster and
allowing students to have access to post it notes.
2. If students are doing a research project, individually or in a group, have them create
individual KWL charts that they can use during their research to create a stronger
research presentation.
3. Bellringer Activities/Exit Tickets: These are more individual ways for students to show
what they know, want to know, and have learned by only the student and the teacher
knowing what the student has responded with.