Works with Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, or your own local model: paste this prompt and your AI will co-facilitate this exercise with you.

Help me prepare and run the exercise below. First ask for my participant count, time, setting, access needs and intended result. Check these against the stated limits. Use the supplied rules and materials. Explain any proposed changes before using them, and label them as adaptations. Do not invent source claims or require personal disclosure. Give me one step at a time when I say start. I manage the people, physical activity and clock; do not claim to observe the room. Ask me what happened before choosing a next step.

Reference revision: ffcef637b7760af4e6c9d0fd506360f59bd2186b3c61b2cead5df701cf8d9bd9

# KWL Chart

Participants track their knowledge on a three-column chart by noting what they Know, what they Want to know, and what they Learned from an informational input.

**Time:** 15 minutes. 15 minutes split across an opening phase (8 minutes) and a closing phase (7 minutes), excluding the presentation or reading itself
**People:** 4 to 24. Individual charting with optional pair sharing and full-group check-ins

## Choose this exercise

**Purpose:** Activate prior knowledge, set personal focus questions, and record documented learnings on a topic.
**Use it when:** Use at the start and conclusion of an informational presentation, briefing, or reading assignment.
**Skip it when:** Skip during open-ended ideation or creative brainstorming where prior factual knowledge is not being audited.

## Materials and tools

- One printed KWL Chart worksheet or blank piece of paper per person
- One pen or pencil per person
- Whiteboard or flip chart and markers for room-level tracking

## Before participants arrive

1. Draw a three-column table labeled K (Know), W (Want to know), and L (Learned) on the central room board.
2. Hand out printed worksheets or blank paper to each participant.

## Say this to open

Take a look at the three-column chart in front of you. Before we review today's material, we will log what we already know under K and what questions we want answered under W. At the end, we will revisit the chart to write down what we learned under L.

## How to run it

### 1. Log prior knowledge (4 minutes)

State the topic clearly. Have participants work independently for two minutes to write factual points they already know under column K. Ask two or three volunteers to read one item aloud and write those on the central board. If someone is unsure of a fact, invite them to frame it as a question for column W instead.

### 2. Formulate target questions (4 minutes)

Ask participants to write down questions they want answered during the session under column W. Pair participants up for two minutes to compare lists and add extra questions if inspired. Collect three sample questions on the central board. Pause the KWL chart clock here while the planned presentation or reading occurs.

### 3. Record documented learning (4 minutes)

Once the content delivery concludes, restart the clock. Direct participants to review their W column and write down answers and new insights in the L column for three minutes. Participants may add key takeaways even if they did not correspond to an initial question.

### 4. Share discoveries and debrief (3 minutes)

Invite up to four volunteers to share one answer or new discovery recorded in column L. Note if any initial questions in column W remain unanswered, and invite participants to circle any items they want to pursue independently.


## Debrief questions

- Which question in your W column was answered most directly by the material?
- What is one new fact you recorded in column L that altered something you previously wrote under K?
- Which questions in column W remain unanswered, and where might you find those answers?

**Finished output:** An individual three-column worksheet listing prior knowledge, target questions, and verified facts learned.

## Remote

Create a shared digital board with three columns (Know, Want to know, Learned) or give each attendee an editable document. In step 1, participants post virtual sticky notes in column K. In step 2, they add question notes to column W and use breakout pairs. After the presentation, attendees update column L and mark answered sticky notes with a check mark.

## Hybrid

Remote attendees post directly to a shared digital board while in-person participants write on paper or duplicate stickies onto a physical board. Designate a room partner to read remote digital notes aloud during steps 1, 2, and 4 so both groups see all shared items.

## Access and participation choices

- Participants may write notes privately on paper or type them on personal devices without sharing aloud.
- Anyone may pass on speaking during whole-room shares without giving a reason.

## If the session gets stuck

**Participants write nothing under column K because the topic is unfamiliar.**

Clarify that zero prior knowledge is completely valid. Instruct them to leave K empty and jump straight to generating basic exploratory questions in column W.

**Participants list misconceptions or false information in column K.**

Do not debate the point immediately. Invite the participant to turn that claim into a question under column W to verify during the presentation.


## Terms used here

- KWL: An acronym for Know, Want to know, and Learned, representing the three stages of the learning chart.

## Participant material: KWL Worksheet

Name: _______________________    Topic: _______________________

[ K ] What I KNOW
List facts, details, or concepts you already know about this topic:
-
-
-

[ W ] What I WANT to know
List specific questions you hope to answer:
-
-
-

[ L ] What I LEARNED
List new insights, answers to your questions, and key takeaways:
-
-
-

## Sources and adaptation

Observed in The Teacher Toolkit print and web materials as an instructional reading and lesson framing tool.

Retained the three-stage structure (Know, Want to know, Learned) documented in The Teacher Toolkit records. Structured the process into a 15-minute sequence (8-minute opening, 7-minute closing), added explicit pair sharing for question generation, provided debrief questions, access choices, and concrete hybrid guidelines.

[The Teacher Toolkit](https://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/print-tool/kwl)

[The Teacher Toolkit](https://www.theteachertoolkit.com/index.php/tool/kwl)

Current run sheet: https://unitedwetransform.com/exercises/kwl-the-teacher-toolkit/