Printable Graphic Organizer: KWL Chart (Know, What to Know, Learn)

KWL Graphic Organizer

The KWL graphic organizer is a tool writers use to keep track of

information they research or learn throughout the writing

process. With the KWL chart, writers are able to note what

information they already have on a particular topic. This allows

writers to access valuable background knowledge, anecdotes,

narratives, experience, learning, and memories for a project.

As writers move through the writing process, they note what they

want to learn about a particular topic and what they learned.

What is a graphic organizer?

A graphic organizer is a visual tool that writers use when

planning a piece of writing. There are many styles of graphic

organizers such as: outline, 5Ws, Venn diagram, 3 column notes,

visual cluster, inverted triangle, KWL (know, want to know, learn),

plot diagram, and there are many more.

Different graphic organizers tend to appeal to different writers.

For example, some writers use only the traditional outline for all

of their planning needs, while others will switch between

organizers depending on the writing style.

How can writers use graphic organizers?

Writers use graphic organizers in the planning stage of the

writing process, which is just after the brainstorming stage. Take

the valuable information from the brainstorming and add it to

the graphic organizer. This process allows writers to keep their

important information which can be used in writing the first

draft.