Here is a great graphic organizer for ensuring that young researchers and writers cover all their bases when brainstorming a topic by considering the five W's (who, what, where, when, and why) and how.

If you want your class to practice reading informational texts and answering related questions, this short exercise from The New York Times' "Learning Network" might be helpful. It includes an article on Dippin' Dots and uses...

Elementary readers in literature groups practice summarizing chapter-by-chapter with Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. Focus on main idea, supporting details, and the 5 Ws. Unfortunately, a clever "peach" graphic organizer to which...

Examine how to answer who, what, when, where, and why when reading text. Young writers listen to the story Skeleton Hiccups, and as a class answer and discuss the five W's. Independently they read the story silently, and write the...

The news is full of interesting stories and ideas shared in an informational style. Readers use the provided who, what, when, where, and why questions as they explore an article about a man who is passionate about archiving physical...

In this 5 W's instructional activity, students identify key elements from a book they have read: who, what, where, why, when. Students write details in the five points of a star and illustrate the book in the center.

Third graders assimilate the use of the 5 W's (Who, What, Where, When, Why) when solving problems that are presented in literature and in real life situations. They use common fairy tales to solve problems that might arise at home or...

Teach your class how to investigate research sources. You can start out with this presentation, which lays out a easy strategy for asking questions and taking down answers that cover the important information.

Close out the school year with a look back at a specific event. You provide individuals with photos of themselves, and each pupil fills out the graphic organizer here to prepare for writing a paragraph about the memory depicted in the...

Scholars examine the strategy of making a story map or outline to identify the main elements of a story. They discuss the who, what, where, when, why, and how of a story, in an outline form. As a class they read a short story, answer the...

Second graders practice asking the 5 W questions by reading a Boxcar Children book.  In this journalism lesson, 2nd graders read a single story from the Boxcar Children series and answer the 5 W's about each specific chapter....

From the New York Times Learning Network series, this worksheet poses 10 questions on an article entitled, "Leaving His Footprint on the City" about a man planning to walk every street in all five New York boroughs. The prompts...

This New York Times "Learning Network" exercise on reading informational text poses 6 questions about a high-interest article on teen fashion. The article meant to be review with is resource, "More than meets the iPhone Lens", is rather...

Primary learners will use the five "W" questions for reading comprehension as they read silently to themselves so that they can understand and remember what they have read. They then read The Velveteen Rabbit aloud, discussing the five...

Get your young journalists above the fold with a set of lessons about newspapers. Kids focus on writing articles using the 5 Ws before creating a slide show presentation and blog entry to publish their writing.

In this graphic organizer worksheet, students fill in the graphic organizer with the 5 W's in each point of the star. Students complete 5 sections.

In an age of fake news, alternative facts, and Internet trolls it is essential that 21st Century learners develop the skills they need to authenticate the facts in viral news. Here is a great way to begin with a resource that...

Elementary schoolers observe and apply a variety of reading comprehension strategies. They silently read a passage out of their science textbook, and discuss answering the who, what, where, when, and how of the text. In small groups they...

Whether you are teaching a newspaper unit in language arts, covering the First Amendment and censorship in social studies, or focusing on writing ethics in journalism, a unit based on the foundations of journalism would be an excellent...

Find key details in books using this note card strategy. Each reader gets six cards with the classic who, what, where, when, why, and how detail prompts. After they read the book, they choose a card and locate a key detail...

There's more to newspaper articles than meets the eye. Scholars learn the different features of a newspaper article, including headline, byline, subheadings, etc. Pupils circle the features in an article as the teacher discusses their...

In this graphic organizer worksheet, students answer the five w's in the provided spaces on the worksheet. There are five spaces on the worksheet to fill out. This is ideal to use as a reading comprehension tool.

Seventh graders investigate the journalism techniques of professionals by identifying the 5 W's.  In this investigative writing lesson, 7th graders read several news articles and describe the format used for most news articles....

Practice the five W's and question marks with a fun grammar activity. After copying the words who, what, where, when, why, and how, kindergartners fill the words into various questions. For extra practice, have kids come up with their...