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Alaska Department of Education & Early Development

KWL (KNOW/WANT/LEARNED) CHARTS

A KWL chart such as the following illustrates using the KWL technique for current events or for a concept such as earthquakes, using a reading about the 1995 Kobe earthquake as an example. Students brainstorm what they know about earthquakes, then list questions they might want to investigate, and finally complete the "What I Learned" column based on answers they find in a reading about the Kobe earthquake.

EARTHQUAKES---1995 KOBE EARTHQUAKE

K-What I Know	W-What I Want To Find Out	L-What I Learned
The Pacific Rim region is prone to earthquakes. Earthquakes occur when plates collide. Tsunamis can result from earthquakes. Earthquakes are measured on a seismic scale of magnitude called the Richter Scale.	What was the magnitude of the Kobe earthquake? How many people were injured/killed/homeless? Was this a big earthquake in comparison to other recent earthquakes or other earthquakes in Japan? Did any tsunamis result from this earthquake? Are the Japanese prepared for earthquakes? How does the force of an earthquake compare to something else? What plates meet in Japan?	The Kobe earthquake had a magnitude of 7.2. Over 5,000 were killed, 26,000 injured, 310,00 homeless. 140,000 people were killed in the September 1, 1923 Tokyo earthquake. In the last 25 years, the worst earthquake in terms of the number of deaths was the 1988 NW Armenia earthquake with 55,000 deaths, while the largest on the Richter scale was the 1976 Tangshan, China, one at a magnitude of 8.2. The Northridge earthquake killed only 61 people. Japan has strict building codes and regularly have earthquake drills. The earthquake had the force of more than 240 kilotons of TNT. The Eurasian, Philippine Sea, and Pacific plates meet near Japan.

MAPPING/WEBBING

Mapping/webbing can be used to show relationships among ideas, concepts, themes, and/or propositions. In this example, mapping/webbing is used to illustrate the concept of regions. Further, this mapping/webbing example demonstrates how students can map without drawing elaborate borders, etc.

NOTETAKING

Notetaking can facilitate memory of important ideas. The following example illustrates a key word/question (notes) model and contains information for a map analysis system. (Source: Jeremy Anderson, "Teaching Map Skills; An Inductive Approach")

TODALSIGSS NOTETAKING TABLE

Letter		Associated Word/Words	Questions to Ask
T		title	What does the map show? Where is the place? What is the time period portrayed by the map?
O		orientation	What are the principal geographical directions of the map? Does the map have a compass rose or another way of showing orientation? What direction is to the top of the map?
D		date	When was the map made? How long ago was the map made? Is it still reliable? What has changed since the map was printed?
A		author	Who made the map? Was it an individual or a team of people? Is this a commercially produced map?
L		legend	Does the map have a legend (key) that clearly shows the meaning of the symbols? What symbols are included in the legend?
S		scale	Is there a map scale? What distance does a unit of measure represent in the area actually shown on the map? How is the scale expressed: verbally as a ratio or in graphic form?
I		index	Does the map have an alphabetical list of places shown and the grid address of those places?
G		grid	Does the map have a set of intersecting lines the provides a map address? Is the grid an arbitrary system or latitude/longitude system?
s		source	Where did the information to make the map originate?
s		situation	Does the map show the situation of the place in relation to a larger or smaller region or the world?