---
title: What? So What? Now What?
description: Students will create a comic to demonstrate their understanding and personal connection to the content in a social studies text.
image: https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/what_so_what_now_what_-001.png
---

**Subject: ELA (English Language Arts)**

**Lesson Length: 30 - 45 mins**

**Topic: Comprehension of Nonfiction Text**

**Grade Level: 6, 7, 8**

**Standards / Framework: **

- [CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.2](https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ELA_Standards1.pdf)

**Brief Description:**  In this lesson students will learn to better comprehend and check their understanding of nonfiction text by asking reflective questions. 

**Know Before You Start:** This lesson uses the reflective thinking strategy "What? So What? Now What?" Students will use the questions to guide their analysis of a historical or social studies text. Two preselected social studies texts will be needed.

**Hook:**

- Introduce a selected text on a social studies topic.
- Display the sample comic. 
- Model how to reflect on the content by asking the questions: 
    - What?
    - So what?
    - Now what?
- **What?** Prior to reading, students can make predictions about what they anticipate learning through the text. 
- **So what?** Read the text together and discuss new information learned and personal connections with the text.
- **Now what? **Reflect after reading the selected text and consider how the information applies to the world today or additional questions posed in the text.
- Explain that using these reflective questions helps to better understand the facts of the text, our connections with it, and how to apply the information.

**Activity:**

- Provide students with another social studies article or selected text related to the same topic.
- Have students independently read the text using the "What? So what? Now what?" strategy. 
- Using the sample comic as a guide, have students create a three-panel "What? So what? Now what?" comic to demonstrate their understanding.

**Closure:**

- Allow students to share their comics with the class or in groups.
- Discuss how using the "What? So What? Now What?" strategy can be used with all types of texts to better understand the content.

**Differentiation:**

- Allow students to use the speech-to-text feature.
- Allow students to work in pairs or groups as needed.
- Adjust the selected text based on a student’s reading level.
- Provide an audio recording of selected text. 
- Allow students to use a graphic organizer.
- Allow students to use the voiceover feature to read their comics aloud.

**Resources:**

- [Comic](https://share.pixton.com/qkpwrpf) to print or display
- [T-Chart](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/Printables/Graphic%20Organizers_02.pdf)
- [Main Idea Web](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/Printables/Graphic%20Organizers_03.pdf)
- [Concept Map](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/Printables/Graphic%20Organizers_04.pdf)
- [First, Next, Then, Last](https://ideas.pixton.com/hubfs/Printables/Graphic%20Organizers_09.pdf)
- Social studies article or texts

**Suggested Content:**

- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/1705645724953350144/thumbnail.png) Reconciliation ](https://content.pixton.com/reconciliation)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2024900871756120064/thumbnail.png) Explorer ](https://content.pixton.com/explorer)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/1921215267665506304/thumbnail.png) Juneteenth ](https://content.pixton.com/juneteenth)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/1806750089977430016/thumbnail.png) Cold War ](https://content.pixton.com/cold-war)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2012184976577216512/thumbnail.png) American Civil War ](https://content.pixton.com/american-civil-war)
- [![](https://img.pixton.com/content-pack/2050231112661217280/thumbnail.png) Underground Railroad ](https://content.pixton.com/underground-railroad)

Assign Activity

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