This class critics summarizing activity gives 3rd to 5th grade students seven organizers to summarize books, videos, and articles. Answer key included for the model and practice.
This KWL About a Topic Graphic Organizer Worksheet gives 3rd graders a roomy, full-width chart for recording what they know, what they want to know, and what they learned about any topic — a simple way to make thinking visible.
This school KWL graphic organizer lets 3rd grade students list what they know, what they wonder, and what they learn about their school, making the first weeks of class feel welcoming and organized.
This KWHL graphic organizer helps 3rd grade students plan research on any topic by recording what they know, what they want to learn, how they will learn it, and what they discover.
This butterflies KWL graphic organizer helps 3rd grade students record what they know, what they want to learn, and what they learned about butterflies, building strong reading and science habits.
This nonfiction fishin' activity gives 3rd-5th Grade readers six graphic organizers for different kinds of nonfiction text, a model article and practice, with an answer key included.
This KWL graphic organizer helps 3rd grade students record what they know, what they want to learn, and what they learned about any topic, building strong reading and research habits.
This classroom procedures KWL graphic organizer helps 3rd grade students record what they know, want to learn, and learned about class routines, building a calm, confident start to the school year.
This firehouse KWL graphic organizer lets 2nd grade students write what they know, what they wonder, and what they learn about firefighters, turning any community helpers lesson into active learning.
This fire KWL graphic organizer helps 3rd grade students record what they know, what they want to learn, and what they learned about the firehouse, building strong reading and research habits.
This KWLS graphic organizer worksheet guides 3rd grade readers to record what they know, want to know, learned, and still wonder about any topic or book, building curious, purposeful readers.
This plants KWL graphic organizer helps 3rd grade students record what they know, what they want to learn, and what they learned about plants, building strong reading and science habits.
Know it, wonder it, learn it!
A KWL chart turns reading into a question hunt. Before a book or unit, kids write what they Know and what they Want to know. Afterward they record what they Learned. The KWHL version adds How they'll find out (a book, a video, an expert), and KWLS adds what they Still wonder. The magic moment comes when a child looks back at the K column and says, "Wait, that's not right!" That's real learning happening on paper.
A KWL chart can be a fill-in-the-boxes chore or the best part of a unit. These moves keep it the second one.
Fill the first KWL chart together on chart paper before kids ever try one alone. Say your thinking out loud: "I think fire needs air... I'm not sure, so I'll put a question mark." Kids learn that guesses and questions are welcome in the K and W columns.
Why it works: handing over the work step by step, from teacher to student, is one of the most widely used teaching frameworks (Pearson and Gallagher, 1983).
Try it withKWL Graphic OrganizerWorksheetsOpen it →With the KWHL organizer, kids pick a How for every Want question: the library book, the class video, or asking a firefighter. Suddenly they're planning research, not just wondering. Circle back at the end and check which How actually answered the question.
Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.
Try it withKWHL Graphic OrganizerWorksheetsOpen it →After the unit, hand out red pencils and have kids reread their K column. Anything that turned out wrong gets crossed out and corrected. Kids love catching their own old mistakes, and it shows them their thinking grew.
Why it works: children learn more from words and pictures together than from words alone (Mayer, 2009).
Try it withKWLS Graphic Organizer WorksheetGraphic OrganizersOpen it →A few ways to get kids asking questions before they even open the book.
ActivitiesKids "fish" for facts in a nonfiction text and reel them into their L column. Biggest catch wins bragging rights!
Open Nonfiction Fishin' Activity →
WorksheetsPost everyone's W questions on sticky notes. Move each one to the "Answered!" side as the unit goes on.
Open KWL About a Topic Graphic Organizer Worksheet →
WorksheetsStart a themed chart on day one of a life cycle unit and finish it on the last day. Kids can see how much they learned.
Open Butterflies KWL Graphic Organizer →Teacher favorites right now: Class Critics Summarizing Activity, KWL About a Topic Graphic Organizer Worksheet and School KWL Graphic Organizer.
Know, Want to know, and Learned. Kids fill in the first two columns before reading or starting a unit and the last column afterward. It was created by educator Donna Ogle in 1986 as a way to activate what kids already know.
KWHL adds an H column for How will I find out? It nudges kids to plan where their answers will come from, like a book, a website or an interview. It works well from 2nd grade up, when kids start doing simple research.
Kids can use one from kindergarten on. Little ones dictate or draw while the teacher writes on a class chart. By 2nd or 3rd grade most kids can fill out their own.
At the end of the reading or unit, but it also works to add to it as you go. Many teachers stop after each lesson for a quick L entry so the final fill-in isn't overwhelming.
Absolutely! KWL fits any nonfiction topic, from plants and butterflies to fire safety and classroom rules. Themed organizers make it easy to start a new unit with one.
Loved by 2 million teachers & families
Printables, songs and games for every subject, Preschool through 6th. Ready to teach today, and kids beg for more.
