Confirming a K-W-L: Considering the source
Sampson, Mary Beth . The Reading Teacher 55.6 (Mar 2002): 528-532.
"Talk about a dilemma! I had a student who said a whale was a `really big fish.' Since it was during brainstorming, I didn't know what to do except write it down-it was the first time she had said anything in the whole group. But-now it's still up there on the chart!"
"I know what you mean! While it was great that everyone was interested and participating-one of my students said `tornados only happen in the spring'! I wrote it down-even though it wasn't accurate-and now it's still up there for everyone to read!"
"Well, I have a different concern. One of my students thinks he knows everything about the planets, and the other students just accept everything he says as fact. His information is correct, but the others don't think they need to read to find information, they just wait for him to say it-or think they can ask himand he doesn't feel like he needs to research, he just uses his prior knowledge."
"At least his information is correct-- what about when you have some kids who get all of their information from the Internet and some of their 'facts' conflict with some of the resources I have? How do I get my kids to evaluate the source? Should I just present my information as the right answer to the class? I know that would shut down any more brainstorming!"
I listened to my preservice teachers debrief after using the K-W-L strategy (What I Know, What I Want to Know, What I Learned) (Ogle, 1986) during their field experiences, and realized their concerns were valid. I acknowledged that a K-W-L facilitated class engagement and interaction by activating students' prior knowledge and helping them set a purpose for reading and recording what they learned, but the prospective teachers were still troubled. During brainstorming, they felt it