WH Questions — Who and What
Flashcards for who and what questions.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Group by question word and start with who, which is the most concrete of all the question words. Every who question here has a person as its answer, and pointing at a person is the simplest possible response. The personal questions require retrieval from memory rather than from the room, so mix in a few that can be answered by looking around. Eight minutes covers the twelve.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentPresent the item and wait 5 seconds of quiet before helping.Log as correct
- HintReread the key sentence, or point back to the clue in the text or picture.Log as cued
- Two choicesOffer two answers, the right one not always second.Log as cued
- ModelThink aloud: say how you worked it out, then the student says the answer and why.Log as cued
Adjust it
Read it aloud to the student and offer two choices from the start.
Ask the student to say which words gave them the clue, not just the answer.
Matching IEP goal
Given short texts or spoken prompts, Student will answer wh- questions in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than an indirect cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Twelve questions split between two question words: who is your teacher, who is your best friend, who lives next door, who takes you to school, who cooks dinner at your house; what is your name, what do you want to eat, what is in the box, what time is it, what do you do at recess, what is your favorite color. Who asks for a person and what asks for a thing — the earliest wh-distinction children make.
What to listen for
Listen for a thing answered to a who question, which is a question word confusion rather than a knowledge gap. Watch what time is it, which is a what question with a very different kind of answer from what is in the box — a student who has learned what as asking for an object may not manage it.
Carrying it home
Who and what questions fill ordinary conversation. Asking one and waiting, rather than asking and then supplying the answer, is the whole practice and takes no extra time.
What's in this activity
- Who is your teacher?
- Who is your best friend?
- Who lives next door?
- Who won the game?
- Who takes you to school?
- What is your name?
- What do you want to eat?
- What is in the box?
- What time is it?
- What do you do at recess?
- What is your favorite color?
- +1 more
Questions
- What ages is this for?
- Kindergarten through third grade, for early wh-question work.
- Do I need an account?
- No, all twelve questions play free.
- Which wh-questions come first developmentally?
- Who, what and where are typically earliest, since all three can be answered by pointing at something present. When, why and how come later because they need time, cause or process.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.