Prior Knowledge (KWL)

BENEFITS

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• It activates background knowledge and makes content more relevant by surfacing what students already think they know about the topic. link

 

• It promotes active learning, goal setting, and student ownership since students generate their own questions and track what they have learned. link

 

• It supports longer retention and deeper understanding by explicitly linking prior knowledge, inquiry questions, and post-learning summaries. link

 

 

 

HOW TO

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• KWL can be a group discussion during pre-assessment phase of lesson: “What do you know about this? What would you like to know?”

 

• Make group list or chart

 

• KWL can also be done individually by students in a 2-column writing assignment during pre-assessment: K column, W column

 

• Based on K and W teachers and students together create “Success Criteria”

 

• Add H to chart (KWHL) to build students self-efficacy when you ask “How will you learn this?”

 

• Change W (What do you want to know?) to (What do you Wonder about?) which is easier for younger students.

 

• Use KWL with texts, videos, guest speakers, labs, field trips, or full thematic units.

 

• Individual, pair, small-group, or whole-class charts, depending on age and purpose.

 

• Keep a class KWL posted and update the L column throughout the unit so it becomes a living record of learning and a tool for formative assessment.

 

• For reflection, ask students to write a brief summary or exit ticket using their L column as a scaffold.  link

 

 

 

CHALLENGES

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• Students may record misconceptions or “what they think they know.”

 

• KWL functions more as a metacognitive/note-taking tool than a robust comprehension strategy.

 

• Whole-class KWL discussions can be time-consuming, especially when students brainstorm tangential, trivial, or unanswerable questions in the “W” column.

 

• KWL can be distracting or inaccessible for students who are not yet proficient readers or who have weak executive-function skills, since it relies on reading, writing, and working memory.

 

• Teachers sometimes use KWL with any text/topic, even when students have little prior knowledge, rather than reserving it for familiar or conceptually rich topics where it adds genuine value. link

 

 

 

WHAT NOT TO DO

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• Do not do a quick KWL at the beginning and never return to it.

 

• Avoid using KWL as a generic “anytime” activity without a clear purpose, text, or unit question.

 

• Do not simply record everything students “know” and move on; uncorrected inaccurate or irrelevant prior knowledge can confuse later reading.

 

• Avoid assuming all prior knowledge is helpful; you need to probe, clarify, and, when needed, gently correct.

 

• Do not let “what we want to know” turn into a random wish list.

 

• Do not use KWL as the main comprehension strategy; over‑focusing on students’ experiences and opinions can pull attention away from what the author actually says.

 

• Do not have students fill in charts silently and collect them; without talk, many misconceptions and thin ideas stay hidden.  link