How questions · 3 levels

How Questions for Kids: Picture Practice

How questions ask for a feeling, a manner, an amount or a process. Our How practice starts with feelings read from a clear face at level 1 ("How do the two boys feel?"), moves to manner and "how many" at level 2 ("How is the girl fixing her hair?"), and ends with evidence and process at level 3 ("How can you tell it is windy?"). There are about 365 how questions.

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  • Four kinds of answer, introduced one level at a time
  • "How many" up to five at level 2
  • Level 3 asks the child to point to the evidence
Illustrated scene of morning arrival at school
Level 1: How do the two boys feel?
Illustrated scene of a morning routine in the bedroom
Level 2: How is the girl fixing her hair?
Illustrated scene of a grandpa and girl flying kites
Level 3: How can you tell it is windy?

Where to practise how questions

The How practice in WH Questions and the worksheets. The ready-made deck covers who, what and where only, so it comes before how.

WH Questions scene: a family shopping at the grocery store

In-app practice

WH Questions practice

An illustrated scene with a question about it. The picture stays on screen while the child answers, so it is a comprehension task, not a memory test.

  • Six practices (who, what, where, when, why, how) plus a mixed set
  • Three levels in each: look and find, look closely, use clues
  • Over 150 illustrated scenes and about 2,100 questions
  • 10 questions a session, at most two from one picture; answers kept by question type
See all activities
WH Questions scene: lunch in the school cafeteria

Printable generator

WH question worksheets

Generate a printable sheet of short scenarios with WH questions for carryover at home or in a classroom.

  • Pick any mix of who, what, where, when, why and how
  • 5, 8 or 10 questions a sheet, reading level Pre-K to 5th grade, answers shown or hidden
See the worksheets
WH-Questions: Who, What, Where deck cover

Ready-made deck · Pre-K–2nd grade

WH-Questions: Who, What, Where

A 16-card Magic Studio deck for the three earliest question words, with picture answers so a non-reader can play.

  • Ten picture multiple-choice questions ("Who helps you when you are sick?")
  • Three typed-answer cards and a who/what/where sort
  • About ten minutes; share it with a student by PIN
See the deck

Real how questions, one from each level

Taken from the practice as they appear: the picture, the question and the choices (level 1 shows two of them in the game). The right answer is marked.

Illustrated scene of morning arrival at school

Level 1

How do the two boys feel?

  • Happy(the right answer)
  • Sad
  • Scared
Illustrated scene of a morning routine in the bedroom

Level 2

How is the girl fixing her hair?

  • With a hair dryer
  • With scissors
  • With a brush(the right answer)
Illustrated scene of a grandpa and girl flying kites

Level 3

How can you tell it is windy?

  • The pinwheel is spinning(the right answer)
  • The grass is green
  • The rabbit is sitting

Teaching how questions

How is the hardest question word to define because its answers vary: a feeling (happy), a manner (with a brush), an amount (three) or a process (the pinwheel is spinning). Teach one kind at a time, which is how the levels are arranged.

Level 1 how questions are about feelings, which links this page to emotion recognition. For more feelings practice, see the social skills games.

How the three levels work

Every question word has three levels, following the usual clinical progression from literal to inferential questions. Level 1 is literal and obvious, with two choices: point to a big thing in the picture. Level 2 is literal but needs looking: a smaller detail, a spatial word, telling two people apart, with three choices. Level 3 is inferential, with three choices: use clues in the picture plus what you know about the world.

Every question was checked against its picture: the right answer is plainly true in the image and every wrong answer plainly false. A session is 10 questions of one type and level, at most two from the same picture.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a how question?
A question that asks how someone feels, how something is done, how many there are, or how you know: "How does she feel?", "How is he getting to school?".
Is there a how question deck?
Not as a ready-made deck yet; the first-party deck covers who, what and where. The How practice and the worksheet generator cover how.
How much does it cost?
Every account starts with a 7-day free trial of everything, with no card needed. After that it is $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year, and you can cancel anytime.

Keep exploring

WH questions games

All six question words, the deck and the worksheets.

Who questions

Picture practice for "who" questions, three levels.

What questions

Picture practice for "what" questions, three levels.

Where questions

Picture practice for "where" questions, three levels.

When questions

Picture practice for "when" questions, three levels.

Why questions

Picture practice for "why" questions, three levels.

Social skills games

Conversation and social scenarios for ages 6 to 13.

Practise how questions today

WH Questions, the worksheets and every game are in the 7-day free trial. No card needed.

Start free trial

7 days free • No card needed • Then $9.99/month or $79.99/year