• Who

• What 

•When 

• Where 

• Why

• How

It sounds simple, but you would be surprised how often young writers forget to address these important points. We use 5 Ws and an H both from a reading and a writing perspective. Students pick this information out of texts they read reinforcing the idea that good writers anticipate a reader’s questions. When composing their own writing, they check to make sure they have hit as many of these as possible, ensuring they have covered their topic thoroughly. The benefit of this approach is that it applies to all forms of writing, whether it be summarizing a novel, responding to a prompt in Social Studies, or answering questions in Science. The next time you are checking you Middle School student’s work, ask him or her to show you how they have included the 5 Ws and an H.