A KWL chart for the start of a 4th grade state history unit. Students fill What I KNOW and What I WANT to know on day one, then return to What I LEARNED at the end to write down facts and evidence. The directions spell out that timing, so the chart can sit in a folder for weeks. The W column is where C3 Framework D2.His.3.3-5 comes in, as students write their own questions about the state's past. It runs 2 pages and has no answer key.
D2.His.3.3-5
“Generate questions about individuals and groups who have shaped significant historical changes and continuities.”
The W column asks students to write what they want to know about the state's past, which works best when you steer them toward people and groups who changed the state.
The title sets the unit topic, the history of the students' own state.
Three columns headed "K: What I KNOW," "W: What I WANT to know," and "L: What I LEARNED," each with open space for notes.
Day one of the unit
Give students ten minutes for K and W. Many will know only the capital, so prompt with a map of the state or a photo of an old building.
Question wall
Copy the strongest W questions onto sticky notes and post them. Cross each one off as a lesson answers it, so students see the chart working.
Final lesson
Ask that the L column answer at least two of the student's own W questions, each with a fact or date as evidence.
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