Pre-K Printable Fun
  • Home
  • About
    • Pre-K Printable Fun
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    • Policies
    • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Activity Library
  • Themes
  • Become a Member
  • Log In
  • Store

How to use KWL Charts with Early Learners

9/17/2021

Comments

 
Picture

Free Preschool KWL Charts

Many educators are familiar with KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learned)
charts to some degree. Perhaps you already use them in your teaching approach, used them as a student, or became familiar with them somewhere along the way. 

This approach is easy to learn and implement in any learning environment with children of all ages! Keep reading to learn more about implementing KWL charts with early learners, and and be sure to download your KWL Template below to use in your planning.
KWL charts support connections between instructional method and goals, and student interests and needs. There are many benefits to using this simple approach with young children.

For educators, KWL charts help to organize the curriculum and support individualization in lesson plans and activity invitations. This results in children getting more of what they need in an effective way. 

For students, KWL charts are an opportunity to communicate wants, needs, and expectations for learning in the program. This creates a desire to learn and ownership over learning for students. 
One of the wonderful things about this tool is that it can be used with many different types of curriculum and learning environments.

KWL with your Themes

Picture
Regardless of approach, curriculum for young children typically uses themes, or topics of study, as a catalyst for teaching. Using themes keeps children engaged and provides a framework for learning. 
After determining the theme, educators can then work on picking out activities and gathering materials. Starting with a KWL chart helps educators with this second step. 

I KNOW...

Picture
The K in KWL stands for I Know; in this first step educators are determining what students already know about the topic. This step can be done informally during daily activities or it can be a planned part of your routine before beginning a new theme. 

Talking about the theme ahead of time helps children learn to plan ahead and organize thinking. 
Learning what children already know helps educators understand where children are at. When children are describing what they know, teachers can begin to think about how to tie this information into lessons. 

**Teacher Tip: Children may state inaccurate facts; writing down what children say, regardless of accuracy, is the objective in this stage. When a child says something inaccurate be ready with a response such as "That's interesting, I want to learn more about that" or "I've never heard that before, I can't wait to explore that next week."

I Want to Know...

Picture
The W​ in KWL stands for, I Want to Know; in this second step you're learning more about what the children are interested in for this theme.  This step further helps teachers form their lesson plan and individualize learning. 

​**Teacher Tip: If children are not generating ideas try using the first column to spur thinking, for example: "Mallory knows T-rex had a lot of sharp teeth, I wonder what else we could learn about what dinosaurs looked like?" 

Individualization: If a child is not interested in the theme be sure to ask them what type of activities they are interested in. If they love puzzles then perhaps you could include new dinosaur puzzles. If the child states they would rather learn about cars, teachers can take note and be sure to put out a few car themed books and activities as well. The themes are meant to engage children, this step in the planning process helps teachers know what to expect for engagement in the theme. 

I Learned...

Picture
Finally the L in KWL stands for I Learned; this final step brings the theme to a close. This step is important for children to work on recalling information and understanding that the topic of study is changing. For educators this step is important for gaining an understanding of what children learned from the unit and what was important to them about the unit. 

Using KWL Charts for Lesson Planning

Picture
Now that there is an understanding of where children are at and what they want to learn; it's time to gather your themed materials and lesson plan! Use the information on the KWL chart to begin forming your lesson plan. If you have many theme related materials you can sift through them and begin deciding which ones will be needed. 

Having materials available for review, or a materials list, helps further organize lesson planning. This is also a good time to review which materials may need to be replaced, determine new purchases, assemble printable activities, and place books on hold at the library. 

Individualize Activities 

Picture
KWL  charts are a wonderful tool for individualizing lesson plans!
While gathering information for the KWL keep note of which student contributed each statement, this can easily be done using initials or sticky notes. This information can be utilized for individualizing lesson plans and for assessments. 

For example: Mallory stated she wanted to explore flying dinosaurs. Adding Dinosaur Pattern Block Mats that feature a flying dinosaur may make working on fine motor development more enticing to Mallory. 
Picture
Individualizing lessons also requires an understanding of the goals for each child. 
Use the KWL charts along with Assessment information to ensure academic goals are reached. 
For example: A review of Liam's assessment shows he is needing more support with uppercase and lowercase matching. Looking at the KWL chart shows he is also interested in fossils and skeletons. Knowing this information, I can set out this Dinosaur Fossil Letter Matching game to encourage him to work on letter matching. 

Final Steps

Picture
Use your favorite lesson planning resources, including the ones that can be found on my  FREE Lesson Planning Pages, to finish filling in your lesson plan!

Once the lesson plan and KWL are complete, post it for parents or keep handy for easy reference. Consider keeping the lesson plan and KWL chart for future review during child assessments, program review, and theme planning. Once the theme is over make notes on the back of each about what worked and what didn't. 

Get your free KWL Charts below:

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Comments
    Picture

    What can I help you find?


    Become a Member

    Picture
    Learn More

    Get Free
    Lesson Plans!

    50+ Free Sample Preschool Lesson Plans!
    Free Lesson Plans
    Sign Me Up!

    Popular Products

    Mother's Day Preschool Activities

    $5.00
    Shop

    Farmers Market Dramatic Play Pack

    $5.00
    Shop

    Let's Build STEM Poster Pack

    $3.00
    Shop

    Let's connect!


    By Category:

    All
    4th Of July
    All About Me
    Alphabet & Letters
    Animals
    Apples
    Arctic Animals
    Arctic Animals & Ice
    Around The World
    Art & Creativity
    Assessments
    Back To School
    Bakery
    Basic Operations
    Birds
    Birthday
    Black History
    Blocks & Small World Play
    Book Companion
    Book Lists
    Camping
    Canada Day
    Caterpillars And Butterflies
    Centers
    Childcare
    Chinese New Year
    Christmas
    Circle Time & Calendar
    Circus
    Classroom Management
    Clouds Wind And Rain
    Colors
    Community-helpers
    Community-helpers
    Construction & Building
    Cooking & Snacks
    Crafts
    Creative Recipe
    Dance
    Deck The Halls
    Dental Health
    Dinosaurs
    Diversity
    DIY & Money Saving
    Doctor's Office
    Dramatic Play
    Early Learning Standards
    Earth Day And Recycling
    Easter
    Educator Resources
    Experiments & Investigations
    Fairy Tales
    Fall
    Family And My Home
    Farm
    Father's Day
    Feelings And Emotions
    Felt Activities
    Fine Motor
    Fingerplays & Rhymes
    Fire Safety
    Flowers & Bees
    Free-printables
    Free-printables
    Friendship And Kindness
    Fruits And Vegetables
    Fun In The Sun
    Gardening
    Gift & Party Ideas
    Gingerbread Sweet Treats
    Graduation
    Graph & Measure
    Gross Motor
    Groundhog Day
    Halloween
    Health & Safety
    Holidays & Traditions
    Homeschool
    Hot Chocolate
    IKEA
    Important People
    Insects
    Kwanzaa
    Language And Literacy
    Leaves & Trees
    Lesson Planning
    Library Fun
    Life Science
    Martin Luther King Jr. Day
    Math
    Medieval Fantasy & Fairy Tales
    Monthly Themes & Ideas
    Mother's Day
    Movies And Popcorn
    Music And Singing
    Name Activities
    New Year's Eve
    Nocturnal Animals
    Number Formation
    Numbers & Counting
    Nursery Rhymes & Mother Goose
    Organization & Storage
    Outer Space
    Outside & Nature
    Parent Engagement
    Patterns
    Penguins
    Pets
    Physical Development
    Picnics
    Pirates & Tropical Island
    Play Dough
    Police
    Pond
    Positional Phrases
    Posters & Displays
    Post Office
    Printable Crafts
    Printable Tips
    Process Art
    Pumpkins
    Puppets
    Puzzles & Games
    Rainbow
    Reading
    Robots
    Rocks Dirt And Mud
    Routines
    Santa And His Helpers
    Scarecrows Corn And Crows
    Science & Discovery
    Self Care
    Sensory Play
    Shapes
    Signs
    Snakes
    Snow And Snowmen
    Social Emotional
    Social Studies
    Sorting And Classifying
    Spiders
    Sports
    Spring
    Spring Cleaning
    Squirrels And Acorns
    STEM
    St. Patrick's Day
    Summer
    Teamwork
    Transportation
    Turkeys And Thanksgiving
    Under The Sea
    Valentine's Day
    Veterans Day & Military
    Vocabulary
    Weather
    Winter
    Winter Clothes
    Winter Sports
    Woodland Forest Animals
    Worms Snails Slugs
    Writing
    Zoo

    Archives

    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2019
    September 2018
    June 2013
    May 2013

    RSS Feed

Choose a Theme:

A-E
All About Me
Apples
Arctic Animals and Ice
Around the World
Birds
Camping
Caterpillars & Butterflies
Circus
Clouds Wind Rain
Construction & Building
Deck the Halls
Dental Health
Dinosaurs
Earth Day & Recycling

Easter
F-M
Fall Leaves & Trees
Family & Home
Farm
Father's Day
Fire Safety
Flowers & Bees
Fourth of July
Friendship & Kindness
Fun in the Summer Sun
​Gingerbread & Sweet Treats
Growing Fruits & Vegetables (Gardening)
Halloween
Insects
Library Fun
Medieval Fantasy & Fairy Tales
Mother's Day
Movies & Popcorn
N-R
New Years
Nocturnal Animals Day/Night
Nursery Rhymes
Ocean Animals Under the Sea
Outer Space
Penguins
Pets
Picnics
Pirates and Tropical Island
Police
Pond Animals
Post Office 
Pumpkins
Rainbows
Robots
Rocks Dirt & Mud
S-Z
Santa and His Helpers
Scarecrows, Crows, & Corn
Snakes
Snow & Snowmen
Spiders
Spring Cleaning
Squirrels and Acorns
St. Patrick's Day
Transportation
Turkeys & Thanksgiving
Valentines Day
Winter Clothes & Staying Warm
Winter Sports
Woodland Forest Animals
Worms, Snails, Slugs
Zoo Animals

Picture

Learning Centers

Preschool Learning Centers are commonly referred to as Preschool Centers, or Learning Spaces. These are activity areas dedicated to a specific type of of play and exploring a variety of topics and activities. Download our Free set of Center Signs!
Learn More

Site

Home
About
Blog
Themes
eBook
Membership
Store
Subscribe
Member Dashboard

Topics

Art & Creativity
Dramatic Play
Language and Literacy
Math
Science and Discovery
Physical Development
Social and Emotional Development
Educator Resources

Contact Us

Need help? Visit our FAQ page 
Support Desk: [email protected]
Privacy Policy • Refunds • Terms of Use • Digital Product TOU •Pre-K Printables Club Membership TOU •Disclosures

©  Pre-K Printable Fun 2024. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • About
    • Pre-K Printable Fun
    • Subscribe
    • Contact Us
    • Policies
    • FAQ
  • Blog
  • Activity Library
  • Themes
  • Become a Member
  • Log In
  • Store