Some children have difficulty answering WH questions accurately in daily life and may need direct instruction and repeated practice. So, how do you teach WH questions in speech therapy sessions or at home? Let’s dive in! If you’re supporting students who struggle with answering questions like who, what, where, when, and why, here’s a full step-by-step guide to teaching these important language skills.
What Are WH Questions?
WH questions are questions that typically begin with:
- who
- what
- where
- when
- why
- how
- how many
They require more than a yes/no response and usually involve giving specific information.
Why Are WH Questions Important?
WH questions are foundational for many other language skills, such as:
- Participating in conversations
- Demonstrating listening comprehension
- Retelling stories
- Early reading comprehension skills
- Answering classroom questions
- Problem-solving and reasoning
Students are constantly asked WH questions throughout their school day. If they struggle to answer them, it can affect comprehension, participation, and confidence.
When Are WH Questions Typically Learned?
Children begin answering simple WH questions in the toddler and preschool years, starting with very concrete “what” and “where” questions. As language develops, they begin answering more complex and abstract WH questions that require reasoning (like “why” and “how”).
General developmental progression (approximate):
- 2–3 years: who, what, where
- 3–4 years: why, how
- 4–5 years: when, how many
These age ranges are only a general guide. Individual development can vary.
Foundational Skills for Learning WH Questions
To answer WH questions accurately, a child needs to have the vocabulary and concept knowledge required to answer the question correctly. For example, if you ask, “Where is the cat?” but the child does not yet use concepts like “under” or “behind” accurately, it may appear that they struggle with WH questions when the challenge is actually the vocabulary word or the spatial concept.
Many WH questions require a specific type of vocabulary or concept knowledge in order to answer correctly.
For example:
- Who questions → require knowledge of people (person vocabulary)
- What questions → require object and action vocabulary
- Where questions → require using spatial concepts (e.g., in, on, under, behind)
- When questions → require using temporal concepts (e.g., before, after, yesterday, first, then)
- Why questions → require cause-and-effect understanding and reasoning skills
- How many questions → require using quantitative concepts (e.g., one, few, some, many)
- How questions → require sequencing or problem-solving skills
Because of this, it’s important to ensure the child both:
- Understands the meaning of the WH question word
- Correctly uses the concepts or vocabulary words required to answer the question
If either piece is missing, the child may struggle to respond accurately. When a child struggles with a specific WH type, it’s helpful to consider whether the breakdown is with the WH word itself or with the underlying concept needed to answer the question.
Analyzing Errors in WH Question Responses
When a child answers a WH question incorrectly, it’s important to pause and ask: is the breakdown due to difficulty with vocabulary or the WH question word?
Let’s look at two examples.
Example 1: Difficulty with WH Questions
If you ask, “When do you eat breakfast?” and the child answers, “Pancakes”, in this case, the child likely misunderstood the WH word. They responded as if the question were “what” instead of “when”. This suggests that the child may need direct teaching on the meaning of each WH question word and the type of response expected.
For example:
- When questions → we expect a time.
- What questions → we expect an object or a thing.
In this case, teaching the meaning of each WH word explicitly and discussing what type of answer goes with it can be very helpful.
Now consider a different example.
Example 2: Difficulty with Concepts and Vocabulary
If you ask, “When do you eat breakfast?” and the child answers, “at night”, when the expected answer is something like “in the morning”, the child understood that a time was required (so they understood the WH word), but they may struggle with temporal concepts or vocabulary related to time.
This tells us the breakdown is not with the WH word itself, but with the underlying concept (in this case, temporal concepts).
In this case, focusing on understanding and using temporal concepts accurately can be very helpful.
What This Tells Us
When we identify the source of the breakdown, we can target the correct skill:
- If the child answers the wrong type of question → teach the meaning of the WH word
- If the child gives the wrong vocabulary or concept → strengthen the underlying concept (spatial, temporal, etc.)
By identifying the true area of difficulty, we can provide more effective and focused intervention.
How To Teach WH Questions in Speech Therapy
Overview
- Teach the Meaning of the WH Question Word
- Practice Different Subtypes of the WH Question
In this guide, we’ll focus on five core WH question types commonly targeted in speech therapy: who, what, where, when, and why.
Step 1: Teach the Meaning of the WH Question Word
Pick a WH question to focus on
Start by picking one WH question word to focus on. I like starting with the more concrete WH question types like who, what, and where first before targeting more abstract ones like when and why. You can refer to the age ranges above for general developmental guidance, while prioritizing the child’s individual needs.
Explicitly teach the type of response expected
Teach what the WH question word means and what type of response is expected. Visuals are excellent for helping students understand the meaning of WH questions and see clear examples. For the five core WH questions we’re focusing on, here is language you could use when introducing a WH question type.
Who
Who refers to a person or a group of people.
You might say: “When I ask a who question, I’m asking about a person.” For example:
- “Who made you breakfast this morning?” The answer is a person, for example, “my dad”.
- “Who is wearing boots?” The answer is a person, for example, “the teacher”.
What
What refers to a thing or an action.
You might say: “When I ask a what question, I’m asking about a thing or what someone is doing.” For example:
- “What did you eat for breakfast this morning?” The answer is a thing, for example, “pancakes”.
- “What is the teacher doing?” The answer is an action, for example, “walking”.
Where
Where refers to a place or location.
You might say: “When I ask a where question, I’m asking about a place.” For example:
- “Where did you eat breakfast this morning?” The answer is a place, for example, “in the kitchen”.
- “Where are the teacher’s boots?” The answer is a place, for example, “under the bench”.
When
When refers to a time.
You might say: “When I ask a when question, I’m asking about time.” For example:
- “When did you eat breakfast?” The answer is a time, for example, “in the morning”.
- “When did the teacher put her boots on?” The answer is a time, for example, “before going outside”.
Why
Why refers to a reason.
You might say: “When I ask a why question, I’m asking for a reason.” For example:
- “Why did you eat breakfast?” The answer is a reason, for example, “because I was hungry”.
- “Why is the teacher putting her boots on?” The answer is a reason, for example, “because it’s cold outside”.
If a student confuses two WH question types, it can be helpful to use visuals for those two types to help contrast the meaning and refer back to it during practice for extra support. In the earlier example, you might want to use visuals like the ones below to help the child understand the difference between “what” and “when”.
Step 2: Practice Different Subtypes of the WH Question
Once you’ve introduced a WH question type, it’s time for the child to practice! Each WH question type can be broken down into subtypes of questions. Here are three common subtypes per WH question.
Who
- Items: e.g., “Who has the hat?”
- Actions: e.g., “Who is jumping?”
- Community helpers: e.g., “Who puts out fires?”
What
- Identifying objects: e.g., “What’s this?”
- Actions: e.g., “What is he doing?”
- Functions of objects: e.g., “What do we wear on our feet?”
Where
- Spatial concepts: e.g., “Where is the dog?”
- Common places: e.g., “Where do we keep food?”
- Situations: e.g., “Where do you go to learn?”
When
- Time of day: e.g., “When do we eat breakfast?”
- Seasons: e.g., “When do we make a snowman?”
- Situations: e.g., “When do we wear a helmet?”
Why
- Functions of objects: e.g., “Why do we use keys?”
- Cause and effect: e.g., “Why do we eat food?”
- Situations: e.g., “Why do we go to the doctor?”
Activities to Teach and Practice WH Questions
Here are some of my favorite ways to teach and practice WH questions in speech therapy sessions:
Toys
Toys are perfect for young learners because they’re motivating and concrete.
You can use:
- Toy animals
- Play food
- Blocks
- Cars and vehicles
- Dolls or action figures
You can target multiple WH types naturally during play. For example, you can use play food at a play kitchen and have toy animals or dolls around to model actions. You might ask:
- “Who has the carrot?”
- “What is the bear doing?”
- “Where is the apple?”
- “When do we take the cake out of the oven?”
- “Why do we need a spoon?”
Books and Picture Scenes
Books and picture scenes are excellent for targeting WH questions. You can ask questions about characters, actions, or objects in the pictures. For example:
- “Who is helping the girl?”
- “What is the dog eating?”
- “Where are they going?”
- “When did he go home?”
- “Why is the boy sad?”
No-Prep Structured Activities
Sometimes it’s helpful to have organized materials that systematically target each WH question type.
That’s why I created a WH Questions Activity Packet which includes:
- Engaging visuals to introduce each WH question word
- Activity pages for who, what, where, when, and why
- Parent handouts to support practice at home
The activity pages are colorful, structured, and easy to use so you can teach WH questions step by step in speech therapy or at home, without prepping materials!
Adapting Activities for Older Students and Virtual Sessions
If you’re working with older students or providing teletherapy (or both!), you may need to make a few adjustments to your activity selection.
Older students
When working with older students, you might want to use short stories, books, board games, and worksheets rather than toys to match the activity to the child’s age and interests.
Teletherapy
You can teach WH questions virtually with a variety of activities like games, online books, picture scenes, and digital worksheets. For example, see the image below for an activity to target WH questions, which is included in my Activity Packet.
WH Questions Carryover and Home Practice
Practicing across different activities is great, and practicing across different settings and with different people is even better for carryover! Encourage families and teachers to practice during daily routines whenever possible:
- During meals: “When do we wash our hands?”
- During cleanup: “Where does this toy go?”
- While reading: “Why is the student happy?”
You can also use information handouts and simple worksheets to encourage consistent practice at home and in the classroom to support generalization. The goal is for the student to apply the skills across different contexts outside the therapy room.
What’s Next After WH Questions?
Once students can accurately answer WH questions, you might work on (if appropriate):
- Story retell
- Inferencing
- Sequencing
- Problem-solving
A Step-by-Step Resource for Teaching WH Questions
We’ve discussed how to teach answering WH questions in speech therapy step by step. Whether you’re a speech therapist, parent, or educator, teaching this skill can be simple and effective!
In order to make this even easier, I’ve created a WH Questions Activity Packet loaded with worksheets, no-prep activities, handouts, and visuals to help students learn and practice answering WH questions in a fun and engaging way! Check out the activity packet below to save planning time and use it in your next session or at home with your child.
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