Speech Therapy Activities for WH Questions

6 Speech Therapy Activities for WH Questions

Where will you turn for activities for WH Questions?

Why not here!

What SLP doesn’t have students with goals on WH Questions?!

Here are 6 fresh therapy ideas for the who-what-where-when-why’s in your life. (And don’t forget the hows!)



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1. Here and Now...Making it Relatable

As you are introducing WH questions to your students, start with the here and now.

Print all these WH questions and cut them into separate pieces of paper.

Start by putting “WHO” on the table in front of the student. Ask them “Who are you?”

Encourage them to answer in complete sentences.

Next, put the “WHERE” on the table and ask them “Where are you right now?”

Then move to “WHAT” and ask them “What are you doing here?”

Next show the “WHEN” and ask them “When do you come to speech class?”

Then the “WHY”...“Why do you get to come see me?”

And lastly, “HOW”...“How did you get here?”

After they have answered all the questions using complete sentences, then swap roles.

Let the students ask you the questions using the words as cues and you can answer in complete sentences.

2. Guess Who

If you grew up in the 20th Century, then you are probably familiar with the game “Guess Who.”

Everyone loves this game, whether you are 4 or 104.

Play this game but change the rules a little. Choose the card who is the “it” person and don’t show your student.

Then have the student set up their game board so all the faces are up.

Ask them questions about certain people using the word “Who.” Such as “Who has a beard?” “Who has blonde hair?” “Who is smiling?” The child will put down the corresponding faces as you go.

So in this case it is a process of elimination based on “Who” questions.

This type of game can be adapted many ways to practice asking "Who questions", so get creative! 

If you don’t have the Guess Who game and you want to save money, you can cut out faces of people from a magazine and place them in front of the child.

Then just have dialogue about the people...“Who has brown hair?” These are both great receptive listening activities.

3. Roll the Di

For this activity use the WH words you have already printed and cut out and flip them upside down on the table.

Have the child choose a word, and then roll the dice.

They must answer whichever WH question they chose _____ times  (number of times determined by the dice.)

Simple and easy.

You can access over 130 WH Questions on this site for quick reference!


SEE ALSO: The Best Free App for Speech Therapy


4. Fun with Pictures

Have you ever been looking through a book or a magazine and you see an amazing action-filled picture and you wish you could somehow use it in therapy? (Like every Norman Rockwell?!)

Here’s the perfect opportunity to use colorful and stimulating pictures in therapy with your students.

Cut out a variety of pictures of people doing something fun, or any other type of picture that would capture their attention.

You can even pull the images up on your computer, phone, or tablet during therapy.

Print the WH Questionnaire and have your child answer each question verbally or in written format while looking at each picture.

Another way to use these pictures is to have the child look at each picture and ask you WH questions about it. This would be a more advanced form of therapy for WH questions.

Here are some links to website with great pictures…

Wayfair - Norman Rockwell Wall Art (After clicking on a picture there is a magnifying glass in the bottom left corner you can use to enlarge it)

Cutestpaw.com - Cute Pictures of Kids & Animals

5. Read a Book

Practicing WH Questions provides a wonderful opportunity to use literacy in the therapy room.

Ask the child to bring their favorite picture book, or you can have a few short ones on hand. Read the book together, and then answer the questions on the WH Questionnaire. 

Then together, make a diagram showing how all the components of the book come together to make the whole story.

All you need is a single piece of white paper with six circles drawn on as large as you can make them while still fitting on the page.

(Sometimes I omit the “What” for this activity and do 5 circles. It’s up to you.)

At the top of each circle write the WH words.

Start with “Who” and write in the diagram about who is the main character(s)...and so on.

When the diagram is finished and all six circles have information written inside, have the child tell you all about the story using the diagram in full sentences. 

There are many other ways to use books for WH questions, the sky is the limit!

I like lift-the-flap books for “Where” questions, informational “learning” type books such as National Geographic for young readers for “Why” questions, and books with many characters for “Who” questions, such as “The Mitten” or “Gruffalo.”

But the truth is, inside every book is a wealth of WH questions waiting to be asked!


SEE ALSO: The Best Books for Speech Therapy Practice

Speech therapy books for targeting multiple goals

6. Drill

We all know two things about drill: It can be the most effective way to see improvement among students, and it can be boring.

I always try to make drill fast but still fun.

The Word Vault Pro App makes drill fun for students because they can push the buttons themselves and the questions are read aloud.

And the bonus for you...all the questions are right there on your phone so you don’t have to think of them yourself or print any lists.

And let’s be honest, Luke’s voice can lull even an angry crocodile into submission.

I love the organization of the WH questions (by each WH word) and the pertinence of the questions to any age group.

For maximum output by your students while answering WH Questions, use the Word Vault Pro App.

And of course, as always, you (or your student!) can track their progress with one touch of a button. 

I hope you enjoy these activities for WH Questions...Why don’t you stop on by Home Speech Home again real soon!


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About the Author

Lindsey is an M.S. CCC-SLP from Salt Lake City, UT. She received both her B.S. and M.S. from Utah State University. When she's not chasing her 5 crazy kids around, she enjoys creating engaging speech therapy ideas and materials. Read More



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