KWL Chart

KWL charts are something I remember using when I was in elementary school, so it was nice to know that some of the old methods are still being put to use today.

“What I Know, What I Want to learn, What I Learned (Olge, 1986) provides a framework that helps readers access their knowledge about a topic before they read, consider what they want to learn, and then record what they have learned once they finish reading” (Beers, 2003).

I really like this strategy because it is something that is very easy to do an it can be used in any class room before any lesson. I also believe that this is a very engaging strategy, most kids always want to prove what they know and the KWL chart gives them an oppotunity to do this. I know from my experience working with younger kids, they always want to know why or how come, and the KWL chart also gives them the oportunity to ask their questions.

 When my elementary school teachers used this strategy, most of the time they would have the students create KWL charts in groups, after creating our charts we would either present them to the class on a huge post it, or the entire class would express their ideas to create a class KWL chart. I like the picture Beers inserts in the text of the KWL chart because it shows that this can actually be a take home project or maybe even used as a summative assessment. This can even be used as a  prereading or guided reading activity to be done individually for older students. Overall, I think this is a great and timeless strategy. It can be used anywhere by anyone.