A K-W-H-L chart is a great way to scaffold prior knowledge. As class members begin their reading of Out of the Dust, Karen Hesse’s 1998 Newbery Medal winning verse novel, they chart what they already know about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, what they want to find out, and how they plan on finding this new information. As readers progress through the novel, they record what they have learned and/or still want to know.