1. Voice: How do you prepare for reading by using a KWL chart?

3. Voice: Let’s Review: Oftentimes we read nonfiction articles to learn information about a topic. We know there are many topics authors choose to write about in nonfiction articles! In this lesson, we are focusing on the article: The Declaration of Independence and the First Fourth of July. Although we are reading to learn new facts, today we will take time to think about what we already know about the topic.

4. Voice: Let’s talk about a common mistake
Voice: Let’s talk about a common mistake. Oftentimes readers forget to “prepare” for reading. For example, just like you might follow a routine to get prepared for school by making sure you have your pencils, notebooks, and homework, readers have routines to prepare them for success in reading! One way to prepare is to start organizing our thinking by considering what we already know. Sometimes what we already know can help us better understand a topic.

5. Know Want to know Learned
Voice: In this lesson, we will use a KWL chart. A KWL chart can help you organize your thinking and keep track of your learning. Here’s how it works. On a piece of paper or in your reader’s notebook, draw a chart with 3 columns titled K, W, L. The K stands for Know- this is where you jot what you already know. W stands for what you Want to know, and L stands for what you learned after reading the article. We will only focus on the first column, what we already Know.

6. Voice: Before we start filling in our K column, let’s think about it means to make observations about the text. This is our first step in determining what we already know about the topic of our article.
To make an observation, you’re simply glancing at noticeable text features that will give you a quick idea on the topic. The title and photos are examples of features that will help us make observations!

7. Voice: Let’s get started making our first observation from the title of our article. I will model the process of thinking about what I already know, using my own background knowledge, however, your K column may look different than mine- you may know more than I do about this topic!
The title reads: The Declaration of Independence and the first Fourth of July…hmmm..I know the 4th of July is a national holiday in the United States

8. Voice: Now it’s time to jot what I know
Voice: Now it’s time to jot what I know. So on my paper, in the K column, I wrote: the 4th of July is a national holiday in the United States.

9. Let’s practice one more time by making an observation from this photo
Let’s practice one more time by making an observation from this photo. I see a flag in this photo- it has red and white stripes and stars like the American flag- but not as many stars as the flag does now. This makes me curious to read this article. By reading the caption, I can discover that “during the American Revolution the American flag had only 13 stars to represent the 13 colonies”. Hmm, so the American flag used to have 13 stars for the colonies, and now it has 50 stars for all the states.

10. Voice: On my paper, I would jot: The American flag used to have 13 stars for the colonies, now it has has 50 stars for all the states.
By using this KWL chart, I was able to start organizing my thinking and get prepared to read the article. Remember, by considering what we already know, we may better understand the new information we come across in a text.

11. Voice: So in conclusion, to help you prepare for reading a nonfiction article, 1) Make observations about the text 2) Draw a KWL chart in your notebook and 3) Start jotting what you know.

12. Voice: In this lesson, you have learned how to prepare for reading by jotting what you already know.

14. LearnZillion Notes:
--You may need extra slides for guided practice. If you don’t, just delete these slides!

15. K: What do you already KNOW?
W: What do you WANT to know?
L: What did you LEARN?

16. Research the American Flag: What do the stars and stripes symbolize
Research the American Flag: What do the stars and stripes symbolize? Why are the colors of the flag red, white, and blue?
Discover how the flag has changed since the year 1776 when the Declaration was written
Illustrate the different ways the flag has looked- from then to now