A three-column KWL chart for the start and end of a kindergarten community helpers unit. The columns read What I KNOW, What I WANT to know, and What I LEARNED, and each has an open space where students draw or write. The first two get filled on day one. The last waits until the unit ends. It fits the C3 Framework inquiry arc, especially D1.3.K-2.
D1.3.K-2
“Identify facts and concepts associated with a supporting question.”
The K column, where students record facts they already have about helpers, and the L column, where new facts appear at the end of the unit.
D2.Civ.2.K-2
“Explain how all people, not just official leaders, play important roles in a community.”
The finished L column, which should show jobs that different community helpers do.
The directions tell students to draw or write what they know and want to know today, and to fill in the last column at the end of the unit.
One table with K, W, and L columns and a blank space under each for drawings or words.
Unit launch
Brainstorm helpers as a class before students touch the K column. A quick list of the firefighter, nurse, and bus driver gives prereaders something to draw.
Scribe the questions
Writing in the W column is hard for kindergartners. Let students draw, then write their spoken question beside the picture for them.
After a class visitor
Keep the charts in folders and pull them out after a firefighter or librarian visits. The L column is the easy place to capture what students heard.
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