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Back to: Tools And Ideas / Teaching Strategies / Articles & Resources / K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learned)
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K-W-L (Know, Want to Know, Learned)

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ARTICLE SECTIONS

o Description
o Purpose
o How to use the K-W-L strategy
o Example
Description
K-W-L (Ogle, 1986) is an instructional reading strategy that is used to guide students through a text.
Students begin by brainstorming everything they Know about a topic. This information is recorded
in the K column of a K-W-L chart. Students then generate a list of questions about what they Want
to Know about the topic. These questions are listed in the W column of the chart. During or after
reading, students answer the questions that are in the W column. This new information that they
have Learned is recorded in the L column of the K-W-L chart.

Purpose
The K-W-L strategy serves several purposes:
o Elicits students’ prior knowledge of the topic of the text.
o Sets a purpose for reading.
o Helps students to monitor their comprehension.
How to use the K-W-L strategy
1. Choose a text. This strategy works best with expository texts.

2. Create a K-W-L chart. The teacher should create a chart on the

blackboard or on an overhead transparency. In addition, the students
should have their own chart on which to record information. (Below
is an example of a K-W-L chart.)

K W L

3.
4. Ask students to brainstorm words, terms, or phrases they associate
with a topic. The teacher and students record these associations in
the K column of their charts. This is done until students run out of
ideas.

K COLUMN SUGGESTIONS
o Have questions ready to help students brainstorm their ideas.
Sometimes students need more prompting than, “Tell me
everything you know about _____,” to get them started.

o Encourage students to explain their associations. This is

especially important for those associations that are vague or
unusual. Ask, “What made you think of that?”

Ask students what they want to learn about the topic. The teacher and students record these
questions in the W column of their charts. This is done until students run out of ideas for questions. If
students respond with statements, turn them into questions before recording them in the W column.

W COLUMN SUGGESTIONS
o Ask an alternative question for generating ideas for the W
column. If, in response to “What do you want to learn about
 this topic?” your students are either having trouble coming up
with ideas, or are saying, “nothing,” try asking one of the
following questions instead:

“What do you think you will learn about this topic from the
text you will be reading?”

Choose an idea from the K column and ask, “What would you
like to learn more about this idea?”

o Come prepared with your own questions to add to the W

column. You might want students to focus on ideas in the text
on which the students’ questions are not likely to focus them.
Be sure not too add too many of your own questions, however.
The majority of the questions in the W column should be
student-generated.

5. Have students read the text and fill out the L column of their
charts. Students should look for the answers to the questions in their
W column. Students can fill out their L columns either during or after
reading.

L COLUMN SUGGESTIONS
o In addition to answering the W column questions, encourage
students to write in the L column anything they found
especially interesting. To distinguish between the answers to
their questions and the ideas they found interesting, have
students code the information in their L columns. For
example, they can put a check mark next to the information
that answers questions from the K column. And they can put a
star next to ideas that they found interesting.

o Have students consult other resources to find out the answers

to questions that were not answered in the text. (It is unlikely
that all of the students’ questions in the W column will be
answered by the text.)

6. Discuss the information that students recorded in the L column.

Ogle, D.M. 1986. K-W-L: A teaching model that develops active reading of expository text. Reading
Teacher 39: 564-570.

Example
Following is an example of a completed K-W-L chart that students might complete if they were
reading a text about gravity.
Topic: GRAVITY
 K W L

It keeps us What is gravity? Gravity is the force that

from pulls objects towards
floating Earth.
around.
Why is there less
It makes gravity on the moon? The amount of gravity
things fall. there is depends on the
masses of the objects
involved. The moon is
a lot less massive than
the earth, so there is
How did Newton less gravity on the
discover gravity? moon than there is on
There is less earth.
gravity on
the moon. What determines
how fast something
Isaac will fall to the
Newton ground? (teacher
discovered question)
gravity. Air resistance
determines how fast
something will fall to
the ground.

* The students’ question about Newton was not answered in the text. Students should be encouraged
to consult other sources to find out the answer to this question.
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