Family Movie Night: Practicing WH Questions

Does your family plan a weekly movie night? Are you looking for creative ways to practice language skills this summer? Movie nights can be more than just about relaxing with the family, they are also a wonderful way to assist in developing language skills. Practicing “Wh” questions before movie night is a great way to get the whole family involved in practicing language skills at home.

In speech and language therapy, the goal of answering “Wh” questions is often targeted. These questions include: what, who, when, where, why, and how questions. When children are able to answer these questions, they gain the ability to participate in conversations, engage in class activities, and gain new vocabulary. Parents can help their child with “Wh” questions by teaching them how to answer each question and devoting time to practice. One fun way to work on “Wh” questions is for parents to allow their child to choose the movie, then creating a guessing game about the movie.

Questions to Ask

Parents can ask their child:

  • Who are the main characters?
  • Where does the movie take place?
  • What happens in the movie?
  • Where did the characters go?
  • What did the main character do / say?
  • When was the character (happy, sad, afraid)?
  • Who helped the main character?

After parents ask these questions, and the child answers, parents can guess which movie they have chosen to watch. Parents could also choose the movie, and have their child ask the “Wh” questions. Both options allow children to improve their language skills through a motivating activity. For questions for older children, check out Teach With Movies.

For children who are new to answering “Wh” questions, parents may need to ask the question, then model answering the question. For example, parents could ask “where does the move take place?” Then say back to the child, “It takes place in woods.” The parent could then direct the question to the child, and have them answer to demonstrate understanding.

For more tips on this fun summer activity, see the video below:

If your child would like help with their language skills over the summer, please contact us at any of our three clinics, or email us at info@projectplaytherapy.com.