When you are studying, your mind is full of all the new information as well as the preexisting knowledge you have on the topic. In some cases, you might start feeling confused. That’s what KWL charts can help you. In a KWL chart, you can organize your thoughts, pose some thought-provoking questions, and urge yourself to discover more.
In this article, you will understand what the KWL chart is through various KWL examples on various subjects. Keep reading.
What Is KWL Chart
The first step to gaining a deep understanding of the KWL chart is to explain what it is. In reality, a KWL chart is a graphic organizer that urges you to write down your knowledge about a specific topic. It can be used before, during, and after class since the three letters correspond to the “know”, the “want”, and the “learned”.
As you will find in the KWL examples, the K stands for “What I Know”. This is the first column, where you write down your existing knowledge on that particular topic. The W stands for “What I want to know” and it is the second column of the chart. In this section, you write down your learning objectives. The third and final column is the L letter, which stands for “What I Learned”. In this block, you write down all your takeaways from the lesson.
Considering all this, it is easy to understand why a KWL chart example has many uses in education. Nevertheless, you can still use this organizational tool for any type of research you are making.
5 KWL Chart Examples
To make things clearer, we will show you some KWL examples on multiple topics. This way, you can understand how to use this amazing graphic organizer to aid your studying or your research.
KWL Chart Example for Science
The first KWL chart example we are going to see is from a science lesson. In this study case, the student has a lesson about Milky Way. Therefore, in the first step, he must write down everything he knows about our solar system. Then, he must ask some questions that show what he wants to learn, and at the end, he must write down what he actually learned. The same pattern will appear in all KWL examples.
What I Know:
- The name of our galaxy is Milky Way.
- Our solar system has one star, which is the Sun.
- Our solar system has eight planets, which are Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
What I Want to Know:
- How old is the Milky Way?
- How old is the Earth?
- Is Pluto a planet?
- How far from the Sun is the Earth located?
What I Learned:
- The Milky Way is approximately 13.61 billion years old.
- The Earth is approximately 4.54 billion years old.
- Pluto is a dwarf planet and doesn’t belong to our solar system.
- The Earth is about 93 million miles away from the sun.
KWL Chart Example for English
The second KWL chart example is for an English class. In this instance, the students are creating their KWL examples for a specific book that was assigned to them.
What I Know:
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” is a book by Harper Lee.
What I Want to Know:
- When was “To Kill a Mockingbird” written?
- What’s the protagonist’s name?
- What are the main themes of “To Kill a Mockingbird”?
What I Learned:
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” was written in the mid-1950s and it was published in 1960.
- The protagonist of the book is named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch and she is 6-9 years old during the book.
- The main themes of “To Kill a Mockingbird” are social justice and racial prejudice.
KWL Chart Example for Reading
In the next KWL chart example, you will see how to use this tool to explore a whole new genre. This way, you can expand your reading and your knowledge. This case study departs from the rest of KWL examples since it doesn’t concern a specific class.
What I Know:
- Science fiction is a genre that has to do with space and aliens.
- This genre is also popular in movies and video games.
What I Want to Know:
- When did science fiction first appear?
- What are some classic science fiction books?
- Which are the most important science fiction writers?
What I Learned:
- The earliest examples of books that could be considered science fiction appeared in the 17th century. However, the genre became popular in the US in the 1920s.
- Some of the classic science fiction books are “Dune” by Frank Herbert, “Foundation” by Isaac Asimov, “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley, “1984” by George Orwell, and “The War of the Worlds” by H. G. Wells.
- Some of the most important science fiction writers are Jules Verne, Isaac Asimov, H. G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, and Ray Bradbury.
KWL Chart Example for Math
The following KWL chart example comes from a math class. As you may have noticed, these KWL examples focus on the knowledge that the student gets during and after the lesson.
What I Know:
- There are mathematical paradoxes.
- There were mathematical paradoxes even from ancient times.
What I Want to Know:
- What are some famous examples of mathematical paradoxes?
- What types of paradoxes are there?
What I Learned:
- Some famous paradoxes are the painter’s paradox, Bertrand Russell’s paradox, Zeno’s dichotomy paradox, the elevator paradox, and the potato paradox.
- There are four types of paradoxes: veridical, falsidical, and antinomy.
KWL Chart Example for Environment Protection
The final KWL chart example that we are going to see is about environmental protection. This particular case shows you how you can create KWL examples to research any kind of topic, thus expanding your knowledge.
What I Know:
- Electric cars are an environmentally friendly means of transportation.
- Garbage sorting is a way to protect the environment.
- We can protect the environment by saving water.
- Solar and wind power are renewable energy sources.
- Rainwater harvesting can be a way to water plants.
What I Want to Know:
- How to effectively sort garbage?
- What are some other ways to save water?
- What are the advantages of electric cars over conventional cars?
- How can solar and wind power be harnessed to generate electricity?
What I Learned:
- Some water management tips, such as fixing leaks and harvesting rainwater.
- The criteria and methods of garbage sorting, and began to practice.
- The benefits of electric cars include zero emissions, low noise, and energy savings.
- Designed a simple rainwater harvest system and began to collect and use rainwater.
- How solar and wind power work and where they can be used.
How to Create a KWL Chart
The good news is that you can now easily create this graph organizer, based on the KWL examples we’ve shown you. Once you are ready to do it, go to Boardmix and create your account. This online tool offers you a KWL chart example and template, which you can use to write down your thoughts. This way, you can implement this amazing tool in your study sessions.
Here is how to utilize the KWL chart example on Boardmix:
Click the New from template button from your workspace. This will display a pop-up window so that you can browse Boardmix’s template library. Locate and select the KWL chart.
View the template and add as many sticky notes as you need, depending on the points you want to add to your chart.
Fill in all the information you have at each stage. For instance, you can fill in the first and second columns before your lesson, and the third one after it.
The Bottom Line
All of these KWL examples prove to you that this organizational tool can be used in both your studies and your research. Take advantage of its benefits to organize your thoughts and let the knowledge sip into your brain. With Boardmix, you have a well-designed KWL chart template to make the process easier. Create your free account today to discover its potential.
