Until Students Are Familiar with Any Strategy Begin By

KWHL - Know: Want: How: Learnt - MHKA - Mōhio, Hiahia, Kimihia, Ākona

KWHL - Know: Want: How: Learnt

MHKA - Mōhio, Hiahia, Kimihia, Ākona

Explanation

KWHL is a tool that will get students to think about What they Know (K), What they Want to Know (W), How they will find out (H) and What they have Learned (L). It is a tool used to activate thinking and prior knowledge at the start of a unit, to engage and motivate the learner, and to review what has been learned about the topic after the research is done. It is also referred to as a graphic organiser and is used to help students organise their thinking about what they know and what they want to learn about a topic before and after the research is done.

How to introduce a strategy

Until students are familiar with any strategy begin by:

naming the strategy
explaining why the strategy is being used,
providing any important tips they need to remember or do to complete the task successfully, and
carefully explaining the procedure.

Procedure

Teacher activates students’ prior knowledge by asking them what they know about the topic.

Step 1 - What do I Know (K)?

What do my students know about this topic? By understanding the learner’s prior knowledge about a topic, it allows for differentiated instruction. Concept mapping and brainstorming can be used here to help students establish what they know.

Step 2 - What do I Want to Know (W)?

This column allows students to take control of what they want to learn or find out about the topic. This ensures the learning will better match the students’ interests and a greater chance of achieving learning outcomes. For an inquiry learning approach, collate the information from this column and identify the issues for investigation or research. This can be done with the students. Better learning occurs when students are actively involved in this process and the decision making.

Step 3 - How will I find Out (H)?

This column allows students to think about how they will go about their inquiry. What resources do I need? What resources can I access? Which people can I talk to?

Step 4 - What have I learnt (L)?

This is completed at the end of the unit or inquiry. What did I gain from the experience? What new conceptual understanding can I explain, show or demonstrate? What new knowledge did I learn? By reviewing what they have learnt it allows them to also think and reflect on how they learn, and how they might use what they know next time.

Application: NZC The Arts (Dance) Level 8

Investigate, analyse, and discuss the features, history, issues, and development of dance in New Zealand, including the contribution of selected individuals and groups.

A step in investigating, analysing and discussing the features, history, issues, and development of dance in New Zealand would be to determine what students already know about the topic, and what they want to learn about the topic. Haka could be the context for investigating this achievement objective.

K W H L

Topic: Haka in NZ
Focus question/s: What are the features, history, issues, and development of haka in NZ?
What I know (K) / What I Want to Know (W) / How will I find out (H) / What have I Learnt (L)

Application: NZC Reo Māori Level 1

Communicate about personal information, such as name, parents’ and grandparents’ names, iwi, hapū, mountain, and river, or home town and place of family origin.

The KWHL strategy can be used for many of the achievement objectives in the curriculum guidelines. The key is to word the question so that it is explicit to the students and have other questions and examples to help prompt students.

K W H L

Topic: Mihi
Focus question/s: What language do you know (understand), and language are you able to use (say) when giving a mihi?
Prompts:
When someone gives a mihi, what do you understand about what they are saying? Can you work out where they are from, or who they are?
Can you talk about personal information, such as name, parents’ and grandparents’ names, iwi, hapū, mountain, and river, or home town and place of family origin in te reo Māori?
What I know (K) / What I Want to Know (W) / How will I find out (H) / What have I Learnt (L)

Language Support

What do you know about …? / He aha tāu e mōhio ana e pā ana ki ...?
How do you know that? / He aha koe i mōhio ai ki tērā?
Where did that information come from? / I ahu mai aua kōrero i hea? / Nō hea ēnā pārongo?
What do you think you’d like to know about …? / He aha tāu e hiahia ana kia mōhio koe e pā ana ki ...?
How do you think you can find out that information? / Ki tō mōhio, me pēhea e kitea ai aua pārongo? ...me pēhea tō kimi/rapu i aua pārongo?
What do you know now? / He aha ngā mātauranga hou kua mau i a koe?

Comments

Students could keep their KWHL in their learning portfolio as a record of their conceptual development over the unit of work.

Template

SeeMāori and English versions of the template below.

Template 1

K W H L

Topic: [Insert]
Focus question/s: [Insert]
What I know (K) / What I Want to Know (W) / How will I find out (H) / What have I Learnt (L)

Template 2

M H K A

Kaupapa: [Insert]
Pātai Arotahi: [Insert]
Ngā mea e mōhio ana au (M) / Ngā mea e hiahia ana au ki te mōhio (H) / Me pēhea e kimihia ai, e kitea ai ngā whakautu (K) / Ngā mea kua ākona (Ā)

He mea waihanga mō tētahi kaupapa a Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga.