The Five Reporter Questions: Who, What, Where, When, Why

Ms. Ruiz walked into class one morning and found the hamster cage empty. Waffles the hamster was gone! Before anyone could start guessing wild stories, Kenji grabbed a notebook. "Wait," he said, "I need to ask some questions first." That is exactly what real reporters do. They do not guess about a story. They ask five questions to find out what is really true.

• The five questions every reporter asks: Who, What, Where, When, and Why. • How each question digs up a different clue. • How to use all five questions together to solve a classroom mystery like a real reporter.

"Who" means every person connected to the story. Who feeds Waffles each morning? Who was closest to his cage last? A careful reporter writes down every name, because leaving someone out could mean missing the answer.

"What" means exactly what you can see and check — an open cage door is a fact, but "a ghost took him" is not. "Where" means the exact spot, like the back corner shelf by the window. "When" means the exact time, like right before lunch instead of "sometime today." Small, exact details are what turn a guess into a real story.

"Why" is the hardest question, because it means figuring out the reason something happened. Maybe the cage latch was loose. Maybe the janitor left the door open after cleaning. A good reporter checks Who, What, Where, and When first — the "Why" comes last, after all the facts are in.