"In Search of the Heroes": Mark Twain's Tragedy in the Graveyard

The Five W's

The five W's are a tool for writing. They are a common journalistic and research technique for describing situations or events. For writers of fiction they are an excellent exercise in observation--learning to break scenes into their parts and meanings. For reporters on newspaper staffs, they are a way to gather the facts and convey information in simple terms. These are the Five W's.

Who--Who are the characters?
What--What is the situation or the action?
Why--Why is there a conflict?
Where--Where is the setting?
When--When does the action occur?

Story search--Have students read a short story and then write a paragraph on each of the 5 W's for the story. The purpose is to improve student comprehension skills. For exercising student creativity, simply read a single sentence or a short passage (as in the examples below) and have students supply their own 5 W's.

It was a steamboat that had killed herself on a rock. We was drifting straight for her. The lightning showed her very distinct. She was leaning over, with part of her upper deck above water, and you could see every little chimbly-guy clean and clear, and a chair by the big bell, with an old slouch hat hanging on the back of it when the flashes came. (from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn)
Why, I've seen him set Dan'l Webster down here on this floor--Dan'l Webster was the name of the frog-- and sing out, "Flies, Dan'l, flies!" and quicker'n you could wink he'd spring straight up and snake a fly off'n the counter there, and flop down on the floor ag'in as solid as a gob of mud . . . (from The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County)
Situations--For each of the following situations, have the students invent their own setting and story. Have them write a creative paragraph using their W's.

A girl in a drug store.
A dog and a bone.
A girl injured in an accident involving a shark.
A boy at a crucial football game.
An old man running.
A hippopotamus in Texas.
Underwater with fish.
A boy and girl explore the moon.
A boy and girl in the past.
A boy and girl in the future.
Newspaper search--Have the students test the abilities of reporters in your area newspaper. Take any news article and have the students identify the 5 W's in the issue or event discussed. The students can underline relevant sentences or words. News reporting should have this type of coverage. A reporter describing an accident or a world crisis should cover the who, what, why, where and when. If one of the W's are left out of the news report, have the students include an analysis of whether it was important.
Report a student event--Take a recent student event and ask the students to list information on each of the five W's for that event. They can then take that information and write a short report. Student events can be ball games or club-type activities, or for fun, they can be non-events in the hallway (Susie went to her locker, took out her books, etc.). Some humor can be added to the simplest of situations. This type of project can also be done with a science experiment or a school trip.
Advertisements--Advertisements often have many of the five W's. Have the students write their own ads with 5 W-type information. Have them use their own graphic designs. They can choose any product or service. Make a list of items advertised in your local newspaper and then have students choose from the list. The "who" in an ad may be the person using a product, the "why" is why it's needed; the "where" and "when" may be the places and times it's used.
Note that this need not be limited to newspaper-type ads. The students can write TV or radio spots. The ads can be read in front of the class in a makeshift TV studio or radio sound booth (use simple props--desks, tables, dividers--to set a stage).
Tradeoff descriptions--This can be done in groups or with student pairs. Have each student or group draw a picture. Then have them trade the pictures with another group or person and write the five W's about the picture.