K-W-L
or K-W-L-H
Definition:
This strategy, developed by researcher Donna Ogle, was
originally called the K-W-L – shorthand for three questions designed to engage
readers in nonfiction texts: What do I know? What do I want to
know? What have I learned? The questions elicit children’s prior
knowledge, pique their curiosity about a topic, and support research,
motivating students to seek answers for their questions in other texts. Recently, teachers have added the “H” so
that students engaged in research can also consider, How will I go about the
learning, or How will I learn more? The
question compels students to think of information-gathering ideas such as:
interview an expert, plan a survey, browse through newspapers, and conduct an experiment,
asks the librarian for help.
Steps for K-W-L:
1. Have
students make a chart with three columns.
The first two columns should be completed before instruction on the
topic takes place. The third column
should be completed after instruction.
2. The
first column is the “K” column. In the
column students write what they already know, or think they know, about the
topic.
3. The
second column is the “W” column. In
this column students write about what they want to know about the topic.
4. The
third column is the “L” column. In this
column students write about what they learned or still need to learn about the
topic after instruction has occurred.
When To Use:
K-W-L can be used at the beginning of any unit of study.
Resources:
ASCD Improving Student Achievement Research Panel. (1995). Educating Everybody’s Children: Diverse
Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learners.
Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Pearson, P. David, and Johnson, Dale D. (1978). Teaching
Reading Comprehension. New York:
Holt, Rinehart.
Robb, Laura. (1995) Reading
Strategies That Work: Teaching Your Students to Become Better Readers. New York:
Scholastic Professional Books.
Weaver, Constance. (1994).
Reading Process and Practice: From
Socio-Psycholinguistics to Whole Language, Second Edition. Portsmouth, NH:
Heinemann.
Example:
A partial example comes from Pearson and Johnson (1978, 99.
189-91). In this hypothetical
discussion, the teacher is preparing students to read a selection about the
construction of the first continental railroad:
INSTRUCTOR: Tell
me what you know about the Union Pacific Railroad. (No
response.) Well, when was it built? (No response.) Before the
Civil War?
After? During?
STUDENT 1: Before!
STUDENT 2: After!
INSTRUCTOR: Now,
why do you say before?
STUDENT 1: Just
seems right to me. Maybe it had
something to do with the
Gold
Rush?
STUDENT 2: No, it was after!
INSTRUCTOR: You’re
sure about that?
STUDENT 2: Pretty
sure. There’s something about a Golden
Spike out West in
Utah,
or Nevada, or Wyoming, and that country wasn’t even settled
by the time of the Civil War.
INSTRUCTOR: Didn’t
they have railroads before the Civil War?
STUDENT 3: Sure,
the railroads came as early as 1820 or 1830, Right after the
steam
engine.
STUDENT 4: But
they were mostly in the eastern United States.
INSTRUCTOR: So
no one is sure when it was built. Anyone
want to guess about a
date? (Several are
offered, ranging from 1840 – 1910.)
Okay,
where did it start and
where did it end?
The dialogue continues in similar fashion, with students
and teacher pooling their fragmented knowledge but mostly admitting that they
don’t know for sure exactly when, where, how, or by whom the Continental
Railroad was built. They jot down what
they know, don’t know, and want to know, thus setting the stage for reading to
find out.
Such strategies become most useful to student when teachers
repeatedly guide
them in collaborative use of the strategy, as in this example.