Lesson 07 — Where and When
Learners read a short text and answer where and when its happening takes place — the questions of place and time that locate every story.
Objectives
- D04.S2.02.02 Answer who, what, where, when, and why questions about a text read independently or with support.
Essential question
How do I find where and when a text's happening takes place?
Materials
Standard materials
- A short text with clear place and time · 1 A story or account that names where and when, in the home writing system
- Question cards for where and when · 1 set Two cards, each with a question word and a small picture
Low-tech / no-cost
- A remembered true story Listen for where it happened and when, then retell those two facts
- Where/when written in the air Trace the two question words while saying them
Enriched / lab & device
- A recorded account to re-listen · 1 Pause the recording to answer where and when
- A place-and-time picture frame · 1 A two-part frame for drawing the setting and marking the time
Works in different contexts
- large-group Read together, then the whole group points to the place and raises a hand for the time whenever where or when is answered
- self-directed A learner reads a text, then draws the place and marks the time in a two-part frame, checking each against the words
- multi-age Older learners ask where and when; younger learners point to the place in a picture and show the time with a gesture
- level-grouped Each group reads at its own level and answers where and when, then shares its place or time with the class
- outdoor-only Tell where in the outdoors you are right now and when — morning, noon, or evening — then read a short account and find its where and when
Lesson 7 — Where and When
Summary
Learners read a short text and answer the next two great reading questions: where the happening took place and when. Place and time are what locate a story in the world.
Objectives
- Answer where and when questions about a text. (D04.S2.02.02)
Connection
Every happening sits somewhere in space and some moment in time — under the mango tree or in the kitchen, at dawn or after school. When you know where and when, a story stops floating and becomes real: you can picture the place and feel the time of day. These two questions root a story in the world, the way a market stall sits on a particular street corner.
Materials
- A short text with clear place and time (in the home writing system)
- Question cards for “where” and “when”
Preparation
- Choose a short text that clearly names a place and a time.
- Prepare the two question cards.
Facilitator note
This lesson is written to the learner (“you”) so it works in a classroom and for a self-directed learner. Build on yesterday’s who/what: today adds where and when, and a quick recall of who/what at the start keeps earlier learning spaced and alive. Place and time can be told in words, pictures, or numbers; honor every way the learner’s language and culture mark time — the question is “when,” not “what does your clock say,” and many ways of marking time are valid. A learner answers by speaking, signing, pointing, drawing, or writing. Work in the home language.
Procedure
- Gather (5 min). Quick recall: what were the first two reading questions? (Who and what.) Today we meet two more.
- Meet where and when (5 min). Where? — what place does the text name? When? — what time or moment? Say each question word in your home language.
- Read the text (10 min). Read the short text once, all the way through.
- Hunt for place and time (15 min). Read again, searching for the answers. Where did it happen? When? Say, point to, draw, or write each answer — and find the words that show you.
- Ask each other (5 min). Trade where/when questions with a partner about the same text, and answer with evidence from the page.
- Close (5 min). Now you hold four keys: who, what, where, when. One more question — why — is coming next, and it is the deepest of all.
Differentiation
- Support: Answer just “where” first, with a picture of the place; then add “when.”
- Support (non-speaking): Point to the place in a picture and mark the time with a gesture or a drawing — that is answering.
- Extension: Notice how the place or time changes the story; retell the same happening at a different time and tell what would change.
Assessment
- Formative (observation): Can the learner name where and when a text’s happening takes place, with evidence from the text?
Home connection
Ask someone at home where and when one small thing in their day happened, and listen for both answers.
Resources
- National Reading Panel (2000), reading comprehension — locating key details. (Cited as a widely used evidence base.)