WH Questions Activities and Games, Lesson Plans & Worksheets

Are you looking for some of the best WH questions activities and games, along with worksheets, lesson plans and a whole lot more? Then you’re certainly in the right place. We’re going to give you the rundown on the best W/H question lesson plan ideas. Keep on reading!

WH Questions Activities and Games for ESL

Without further ado, let’s get into the WH questions games and activities for your TEFL classes.

#1: Surveys for TEFL

One of my all-time favourite activities that I like to in my classes is surveys or questionnaires. They work so well because they cover a range of skills, require follow-up questions and best of all, get students up and out of their seats talking to their classmates. Oh, and you can make your own easily for just about any topic.

Often the first question is a yes/no question. To take this a step further, I require that if the person answers yes, the original student must ask a follow-up question using who/what/when/why/where/how.

Want to find out more details? Check this out: ESL Questionnaires.

#2: Information Gap Activities

I LOVE using information gap activities because they give students a reason to talk to each other. The way that this usually happens is that students have to ask each other questions in order to get a complete set of information.

Sounds like something you want to try out? You can get all the details here: ESL Information Gap.

#3: The 5 W’s Song

If you teach kids, then you may want to consider using some songs to teach grammar and vocabulary. If you’re not musical, not to worry! There are lots of great resources on YouTube so have a look around. You’re sure to be able to find something that’ll work for your students.

#4: ESL Whiteboard Games and WH Questions

I don’t know what it is, but for some reason, people just like to write on a whiteboard, especially kids. That’s why if I have a small class, I like to play a few games with this.

For example, one thing you can do is state the answer to a question and students have to race to write the correct question form on the board.

• It’s 7:00 (What time is it?)
• My name is Jackie (What’s your name?)

Check out even more ideas here: ESL Whiteboard Games.

#5: Is that Sentence Correct

If you’re teaching your students about W/H questions for the first time, then you may want to use this simple review activity. The way it works is that you write a bunch of these kinds of questions on the board or on a worksheet but make some errors. Then, students have to decide if the sentence is correct or not and if it’s not, they have to make the required changes.

Learn more about it here: Is that Sentence Correct?

#6: Word Challenge Whiteboard Race

#7: WH Questions and Food

If you think about it, there are a ton of W and H questions related to food. Here are just a few basic examples:

• What’s your favourite food?
• When do you eat dinner?
• What’s your guilty pleasure?
• Etc.

For some of the best food-related ESL activities and games, you’ll want to check this out: ESL Food.

#8: Brochure Scanning for Answers to WH Questions

An interesting activity you can do is to find some travel brochures. Then, have students take a quick initial look at the headline and pictures (10 seconds only). After that, they can think of 5 W or H questions that they think the brochure will answer. For example:

• Where does the tour go?
• How much does it cost?
• When does it start?
• Etc.

Then, give students some time to read the brochure to answer the questions. Or even better, they could give their questions to another group to answer. Learn more about this ESL reading activity here:

ESL Brochure Scanning Activity.

#9: Error Correction Relay Race

There are lots of possible errors for these kinds of questions and also their corresponding answers. To make what’s old (error correction) new again, consider using this relay race idea. Find out all the details about how to set it up here:

ESL Error Correction Race.

#10: Giving Opinions and WH Questions

If you think about it, a conversation that involves giving opinions uses a ton of W/H questions. For example, “What do you think about _____?” Then there is a multitude of possible follow-up questions to this. Check out some of the best ideas for opinions here:

ESL Giving Opinions.

#11: Concentration Memory Game

A fun way to practice WH questions and answers is to play this memory game. Make up cards with a question and then a corresponding answer. Then, students have to play together to try to find matches using their memory skills. It’s a fun game and I think your students will love it!

Learn more about it here:

ESL Concentration Game.

#12: Mixed Up Sentences

One easy review or warmer activity is this one that mixes up word order of these kinds of questions. Then, students have to work together in pairs to unscramble them. Find out how to do it here:

ESL Mixed Up Sentences.

#13: The Typhoon Game

#14: Eliciting WH Questions for ESL

It’s very likely that your students already know a good deal about W/H question forms before you “teach” them about it. If this is the case, then consider using eliciting to help students activate their prior knowledge about this.

For example, you could say a statement like, “I came to work at 8:30 this morning.” Then, get students to help you make the question that corresponds to this. Continue with a few different statements using a variety of who/what/when/etc. words.

#15: Sentence Building Activities

It’s often the case that students are pros at answering questions but not so great at asking them. This is because the dynamic is often the teacher asks questions and the students answer them! That’s why I like to spend some time working on building sentences, particularly question forms for these very reasons.

If you want to do this as well, check out some of the best ideas: Sentence Building for English Learners.

#16: Find Someone Who Bingo Game

This is a Bingo game with a twist. Instead of just crossing off words of a grid, students have to ask their classmates questions about themselves to fill in their board. Depending on the possible “answers” you choose, students can possibly get a lot of practice with W/H questions. For example:

Find someone who…

• Went to ABC high school.
• Loves to eat pizza.
• Like to play soccer.

Of course, it’s possible to find answers to these questions with yes/no questions. But, for the purpose of this activity, I require that my students use only W/H questions. Check it out here:

Find Someone Who Game.

#17: Partner Interview Activity

A nice way for students to get to know each other as well as gets lots of practice with these kinds of questions is to do class interviews. Put students into pairs and ask them to interview their partners for 2-5 minutes. The length of time depends on the level of the students.

Then, have each student introduce their partner to the rest of the class. This is a nice activity to consider using on the first day of class.

#18: Jigsaw Activities for ESL

#19: Tell Me More

Make a statement such as, “There’s a book on the desk.” Then, students have to get curious about the book and think of as many W or H questions as they can about it. I have students do this in small groups.

Then, I elicit some of the most interesting questions from the students.

#20: Dictation WH Activity

These days, it’s all about the communicative approach to language teaching and learning. However, I like to go old-school a little bit and incorporate some dictation into my classes.

In this case, say a question that starts with a who, what, when, etc. Students have to write it down using the correct punctuation and spelling. Then, to take it a step further, I get my students to answer the questions with a complete sentence. Want to give it a try? Have a look here:

ESL Dictation Activity.

#21: Man/Woman on the Street Interview Activity

An engaging and interactive ESL activity that’s heavy on the questions is this man or woman on the street interview one. The way it works is that students have to interview their classmates about current events or controversial topics. It’s great for big or small classes and can work with just about any level or age of students as it’s very easy to adapt. Find out more here:

Man/Woman on the Street ESL Activity.

#22: Plan an ESL Speaking Lesson

It’s easier than you might think to plan an ESL lesson for any topic, including this one. Have a look here at this step-by-step guide:

#23: Conversation Lesson Plans

If you teach intermediate or advanced level students and want to get beyond the basics for W/H questions, then consider using one of these conversation lesson plans for English learners. It’s filled with lots of interesting and engaging questions that your students will love talking about. Check it out:

TV ESL Conversation Lesson.

Like this TEFL lesson plan and want to see more? It’s from this book:

#24: Question Circle

Have students form a circle. Start by asking a question using a specific question word (e.g., “Who is your favorite singer?”). The student next to you answers the question, and then asks another student a new question using a different question word. The game continues around the circle, with each student answering and asking a question.

#25: WH Question Story Starters

Provide students with sentence starters that contain WH questions (e.g., “When I woke up this morning…,” “Who is your best friend, and why?”). Each student takes turns selecting a sentence starter and continuing the story by answering the question. Encourage creativity and storytelling skills.

#26: WH Question Puzzle Race

Prepare jigsaw puzzles with pictures related to different WH questions. Divide the class into teams and give each team a puzzle. The teams race against each other to solve their puzzle and answer the corresponding WH question.

#27: Question Race

Divide the class into teams. Give each team a set of question word cards (who, what, where, when, why, how). The teacher reads out a sentence, and teams race to hold up the correct question word card that matches the information requested in the sentence.

#28: W/H Question Board Game

Create a board game with squares that contain different scenarios or prompts. Students take turns rolling the dice and moving their game pieces. When they land on a square, they have to ask a W/H question based on the scenario or prompt to another player. The player must respond using a complete sentence.

#29: WH Question Ball Toss

Students stand in a circle. The teacher starts by tossing a soft ball to a student and asking a question using a W/H word. The student catches the ball and answers the question before tossing it to another student, asking a new W/H question. This continues until all students have had a turn.

#30: W and H Questions Treasure Hunt

Hide question cards around the classroom or outside, each with a different W and H questions. Students search for the question cards and, once found, must ask and answer the question to a partner or the whole class.

WH Question Worksheets

There are a ton of excellent worksheets out there to help your students out with W/H questions and answers. Here are links to a few of our favorite resources:

English Club

ESL Printables

ISL Collective

ESL Lesson Plans for W + H Questions

A huge time-saver when teaching English is lesson plans that you can just print and go. Why reinvent the wheel when plenty of teachers have been there before you, right? Here are some of our top recommendations for WH Question ESL lesson plans:

One Stop English

Teach This

Study.com

Did you like these WH Question Activities?

Yes? Thought so. Then you’re going to love this book over on Amazon: 101 ESL Activities for Teenagers and Adults. There are dozens of student-centred, engaging, and interactive ESL games and activities that cover a range of skills. The key to better English classes is a variety of activities and this book has enough of them to get your through an entire semester in style!

Keep a copy on the bookshelf in your office or teachers’ room to pull out when lesson planning. Or, take the digital copy with you to your favourite coffee shop for serious lesson plan sessions on the go.

Whatever the case, get ready to level up your teaching game! It’s some serious ESL teaching awesome:

ESL WH Questions FAQs

There are a number of common questions that people have about teaching WH questions to ESL students. Here are the answers to some of the most popular ones.

What are the 7 WH questions?

In English, there are 7 WH questions to be aware of:

• Who
• What
• When
• Why
• Where
• How
• Which

How do you teach WH questions?

Teaching WH questions to English learners can be done by first focusing on the forms and meaning of these kinds of questions. Then, use a variety of interactive and engaging games and activities so that students can practice asking and answering WH questions. Information gap activities, find someone who bingo, and surveys work particularly well.

What are good questions?

Good questions are one in which you don’t know the answer to already. They are also generally WH questions as opposed to ones where a yes/no answer would be expected. Finally, the best questions are based on previous information you know about a person through your conversation.

What are open and closed questions?

Open questions are ones in which someone is able to give a free-form answer. They usually use a W/H word at the beginning of them. A closed question is one in which a yes/no answer is expected.

Have your say about these WH Questions Games

Did you try out any of these ESL WH question games or activities? Or, do you have another one that you’d like to recommend? Leave a comment below and let us know what you think. We’d love to hear from you.

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Last update on 2022-07-17 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API