About this activity
Sixteen single-sentence items with a wh-question each: the dog hid Dad's shoe under the bed — where is the shoe; Nina spilled her milk at breakfast — when did it happen; Mr Ruiz drove the bus to school — who drove the bus; the cat ran under the porch when it started raining — why did the cat run; Grandma made soup because Sam was sick — who was sick. One sentence and one question, which isolates the question word.
How to use it in a session
Read the sentence once and ask the question without repeating it. The point is whether the student can hold a sentence and then locate the piece a question word asks for, and repeating turns it into a search task. Group by question word if a particular one is difficult — four where questions in a row establish what where asks for far better than a mixed set. Ten minutes covers the sixteen.
What to listen for
Watch the why items, which require the causal clause rather than the main one. Grandma made soup because Sam was sick, asked who was sick, catches students who answer with the first name they heard. Notice whether errors cluster on one question word, which points at a specific gap rather than a general comprehension problem.
Carrying it home
Asking one question after a sentence in a book takes five seconds. Varying the question word — where, when, why — rather than always asking what is what makes it useful.
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through second grade, for receptive wh-question comprehension.
- Do I need to sign in?
- No, all sixteen items play free in the browser.
- My student answers every question with the first thing they heard. What now?
- Group the questions by word so one type is met repeatedly. Four where questions in a row establish what where is asking for in a way a mixed set cannot.