WhQuestions in Action

WhQuestions helps any therapist work on a variety of wh-question forms. You can work on one or more of the six question types. Here are a few ways to get started.

Start with a baseline

I often start with this app to see how well a student understands each wh-question form. I usually choose three forms at a time (why, how, where), then the other three (who, when, what) in the next session. The app collects the data, which gives me a baseline. It has 400 questions, and for a baseline I use about 10 to 15 questions per form. Then I target the forms that need support. The app lets me present many more questions as part of my therapy plan, and yes, I use other materials and activities for this skill too.

Mix up turns in groups

In a group, I can choose how many questions each student gets per turn, from one to four. Since some of my students also work on attention and turn-taking, I mix up how many turns they get each session. That way they are “paying attention” (hopefully!) to see when their turn starts, and they watch and listen to the others in the group. They are so used to one turn at a time that mixing it up keeps them on their toes (and some are literally on their toes).

Act it out

I like to get my students moving whenever possible. With this app, students act out their answers and see if their friends can guess. If the question is “What is your favorite animal?”, a student might pretend to be a dog while the rest of the group takes turns guessing. We are not trying to be tricky, just to see who can get the group to guess fastest, but the “actor” has to give two clues before anyone guesses. So the “dog” might scratch his ear and then bark. This leads to even more wh-questions: “What did you see? What did you hear? Who has a guess? Why did he scratch his ear?”

Record it

Another great feature is recording. Students can record their answer to a question, or even record the question itself, which lets us work on forming wh-questions. We also use it to play reporter: one student asks (or repeats) the question, another answers, and the whole exchange is recorded. We call it “What do you have to say?” I’m not sure if they enjoy being the reporter or hearing their own voices more!