KWL-PLUS
A.
What’s KWL Plus ????
KWL Plus is a classroom activity that
can be used in lessons involving MPR content. Teachers of social studies,
literature, science, math, and all other subject areas will find such
activities to be especially effective for training students to be successful
independent readers of electronic texts, as well as other classroom materials.
The KWL-Plus procedure (Ogle, 1986;
Carr and Ogle, 1987) works especially well with providing a structure for
thinking while reading and learning. KWL is an acronym for Know, Want to Know,
and Learned. This activity parallels the proficient reading strategies outlined
above, and thus conditions students to engage in these thinking behaviors when
they independently access electronic texts. The KWL-Plus activity includes
pre-reading, during reading, and after reading phases for student learning.
For example, students studying
viruses in a science class might be reading the Minnesota Public Radio story
"West Nile Virus Reaches Minnesota." How could the KWL-Plus activity
be used to create a successful lesson to support student learning from this
informative article?
The KWL-Plus activity is centered
around a three column graphic organizer designed to guide student thinking as
they read. The graphic organizer could be created as an individual student
worksheet or the entire class can participate as the teacher outlines the grid
on the chalkboard or overhead transparency.
Follow the steps below and refer to the Sample KWL Grid.
Students record these items in the K column, as the teacher
models with the entire class. For example: It is carried by mosquitoes; People
can die from this disease; Birds can be infected by the virus.
1.
Step one Identify What You Know or Think You Know—The
K
Students contribute what they know,
or think they know, about this topic. One technique is to ask each student to
take a couple of minutes and, independently, make a list. Ask students what
they currently know about the subject, what they have heard or read. Student contributions
are recorded in the first column (K-What We Know).
·
How would a person know if they had it?
·
How deadly is this virus to people?
·
What areas of the world have the most cases?
·
Is there an effective treatment or medicine if you get
it?
2.
Identify What
We Want to Learn—The W
Sharing information is likely to
bring out questions that students have about the topic. Some questions might be
about the accuracy of the information recorded in the "Know" column.
Other questions may be things students are wondering about. Record these
questions in the middle column (W-What We Want to Learn).
3.
Categorize the
K and W
Guide the students with determining
meaningful categories for the items in the K and W columns. Under
"Categories of Information We Expect to Use" students might decide
upon the following categories: location, causes, effects, prevention.
Organizing information is the first step toward being able to
effectively summarize it.
This step is especially important to
help students see that their lists do not merely contain isolated snippets of
information, and it helps them sort information as they read.
4.
Read the Article
While they read the story, students
lookout for information that answers their questions or expands their
understanding of the topic. When they encounter specific answers to questions
and new information, they use the third column (L-What We Have Learned) to
record their notes.
5.
Identify New Information
After reading, we identify new
information discovered from our reading, which is also included in the third
column. New information is integrated into the previously identified categories
and additional categories may need to be added.
6.
Create a Concept Map
After completing the KWL grid,
students work individually or in groups to create a concept map which connects
all the information under each category into a visual display.
The concept map allows students to
see the big picture from the article, and helps them summarize and synthesize
what they learned from reading this material. Information is organized for
student writing assignments, test preparation, or other projects.
Let’s see example :
7.
Identify Further Investigation
After completing the concept map, students clarify what they
know and make decisions as to how to obtain additional information. Questions
from the middle column (Want to Know) that are not answered by the reading
provide impetus for further investigation.
Sample of Lesson
Students studying viruses in a science class might be reading
the Minnesota Public Radio story "West Nile Virus Reaches Minnesota."
How could the KWL-Plus activity be used to create a successful lesson to
support student learning from this informative article?
State epidemiologist
Harry Hull says he's not surprised West Nile virus has shown up in the state.
It's already been found in 32 other states. He says the virus has been steadily
moving west and south after it first appeared in New York City in 1999. Hull says
reports of cases in surrounding states made him anticipate the first case would
surface in Minnesota this year.
Hull says the virus
carrying crows were found in Golden Valley and Isle, which sits on the south
shore of Lake Mille Lacs.
"This is exactly
what we expected. We suspect that the risk will continue through August and
early September, until we get our first freeze and the mosquito population dies
off," he says.
Hull says West Nile
virus is spread by mosquitoes which feed on infected birds. Those infected
mosquitoes then infect other animals, mainly other birds, horses and people.
The virus can only be spread by mosquitoes. There's no danger of human
infection through exposure to other infected animals or birds.
 |
 |
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
Hull says less than 1
percent of the population who are infected by a mosquito will develop West Nile
encephalitis, which causes swelling of the brain. The Centers for Disease
Control in Atlanta says 152 people have been infected with West Nile encephalitis
since 1999, leading to 18 deaths.
There's no known
treatment, but the virus is most dangerous to people with weak immune systems
and the elderly. Hull says people who contract West Nile virus experience
flu-like symptoms, headaches, a high fever and convulsions.
"The risk to
individuals is low. You're unlikely to contract the virus, and even if you do
you're unlikely to get ill," he says.
Hull says he expects
more cases of West Nile virus. He says Minnesotans should not be alarmed, but
advises people to take precautions to try to avoid mosquito bites. He
recommends wearing long-sleeved clothing and mosquito repellant, and avoiding
outdoor activities at dusk and dawn.
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
|
|
Jim
Stark with the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District says his agency will
increase its testing for the virus in captured mosquitoes. He doesn't believe
the district will increase spraying.
"We've
got one bird here in the metro area, so we haven't found a wide range of birds
being infected. We haven't found any mosquitoes being infected with West Nile.
So the next step would be finding numerous birds and mosquito pools that have
the virus in them," says Stark.
Animal
health officials say over 100 different birds are known to carry the virus.
They say poultry are generally safe, since chickens and turkeys produce natural
antibodies if they're infected.
But
horses are a different situation. The University of Minnesota's Will Hueston
says one-third of the unvaccinated horses who contract West Nile virus die from
it. He says many horse owners in the state vaccinated their horses for West
Nile encephalitis when it was first reported in 1999. However, he urges all horse
owners to have their animals vaccinated with the annual treatment.
"We
know now that West Nile has been identified in crows, so the vaccine won't be
100 percent protection at this point. You need to have enough time for the body
to develop its immune system to respond to the virus. But that having been
said, vaccinating now is better than nothing," says Hueston.
There
was a shortage of vaccine earlier this year, but Dr. Kathy Ott, a veterinarian
with the Equine Medical Center in Lakeville, says it's now close to full
supply. She predicts that a number of horses will be infected with West Nile
virus this year.
"I
would certainly believe that there's horses in Minnesota that will come down
with it. Maybe not so much in the Twin Cities - primarily because the level of
education and knowledge, and the value of the horses, has prompted most of the
owners in this area to vaccinate their horses this spring," Ott says.
"But in some of the outlying areas people aren't as up on their
vaccinations, and those are probably the horses - in northern Minnesota, that
type of thing - where you'll see more of the cases."
Meanwhile,
Hull says the Health Department will increase testing of dead birds to see if
the virus is spreading. He says department officials are concerned about the
virus, but more worried about other health problems, mainly E. coli poisoning
and bioterrorism.
|
K (Know)
|
W (Want
to Know)
|
L
(Learned)
|
|
|
|
Categories
of Information We Expect to Use:
- Where is it located (L-Location)
- What causes it (C-Causes)
- What impact it has (E-Effects)
- What can be done about it (P-Prevention)
Posts
