What Are These and Those? WH Questions – School Items (Free Printable PDF)

Understanding WH questions is an essential skill in early language development, communication, and sentence formation. Learning to differentiate between "What are these?" and "What are those?" helps children grasp demonstrative pronouns, enhance vocabulary, and improve observation skills.

This free printable PDF introduces children to common school items while reinforcing their ability to answer WH questions correctly. Using real-life images, this resource makes learning interactive, engaging, and practical—ideal for speech therapy, ESL learning, and early childhood education.

The What Are These and Those? WH Questions – School Items Printable PDF is perfect for:
✔ Parents & Homeschoolers looking for interactive language-building activities.
✔ Teachers & Educators working with preschoolers and kindergarteners.
✔ Speech & Special Education Therapists supporting children with language delays.
✔ ESL Instructors helping children learn demonstrative pronouns and sentence structure.

With visual learning and hands-on activities, this resource helps children quickly grasp language concepts while making learning fun and engaging.

Product Details

• Resource Name: What Are These and Those? WH Questions – School Items (Free Printable PDF)
• Format: Free Printable PDF
• Total Pages: 7
• Content:
  • Each page contains two WH question activity sets (total of 14 sets).
  • Each set includes a real-life image of school items with a hand pointing to nearby objects (these) or distant objects (those).
  • The answer is provided as a complete sentence (e.g., "These are pencils.")

Examples of Included Sets:

✔ What are these? – Image of erasers on a desk → These are erasers.
✔ What are those? – Image of chalkboards far away → Those are chalkboards.
✔ What are these? – Image of crayons near a child → These are crayons.
✔ What are those? – Image of bookshelves across the room → Those are bookshelves.

This simple yet effective format helps children develop WH question comprehension while learning about essential school items.

Educational Benefits

The What Are These and Those? WH Questions – School Items Printable PDF provides multiple educational and cognitive benefits for children.

1. Strengthens WH Question Understanding

• Helps children correctly identify and respond to WH questions.
• Reinforces "these" vs. "those" using real-world examples and visual support.

2. Develops Speech & Language Skills

• Encourages full sentence responses (e.g., These are markers.).
• Expands school-related vocabulary and pronunciation.
• Supports ESL learners in demonstrative pronoun usage.

3. Improves Observation & Comprehension

• Helps children distinguish between near and far objects.
• Encourages attention to detail and spatial awareness.

4. Supports Special Education & Speech Therapy

• Great for children with autism, speech delays, and communication disorders.
• Offers structured and predictable learning, making it easier for neurodivergent learners.
• Helps in speech articulation, comprehension, and expressive language development.

5. Encourages Confidence in Communication

• Helps children build confidence in verbal expression.
• Provides an engaging, structured, and non-intimidating learning experience.

Instructions for Use

1. Print & Prepare the Cards

• Download and print the 7-page PDF on standard A4 or Letter-sized paper.
• For long-term use, laminate the pages or store them in a protective folder.

2. Basic Activity – Ask & Answer the WH Question

• Show the child a page and read aloud the WH question ("What are these?" or "What are those?").
• Encourage the child to observe the image and answer using a complete sentence, e.g.:
  • "These are rulers."
  • "Those are desks."
• Repeat the activity with different images to reinforce learning.

3. Sorting Activity – These vs. Those

• Print and cut out the images.
• Ask the child to sort the images into two groups:
  ✅ “These” (close-up objects)
  ✅ “Those” (distant objects)
• Once sorted, have them say a sentence for each category (e.g., "These are glue sticks." / "Those are bulletin boards.").

4. Matching Game – WH Question & Answer

• Print out the WH question cards separately.
• Lay out the school item images and WH question cards face down.
• The child flips over one image card and one question card and tries to match them correctly.
• Once matched, they must answer the question aloud.

5. Real-Life WH Question Hunt

• Take the learning beyond the printable by using real-world examples:
  • Point to pencils in a cup and ask, "What are these?" → Answer: "These are pencils."
  • Show classroom doors far away and ask, "What are those?" → Answer: "Those are doors."

This helps children apply their learning to everyday school environments, improving retention.

Activities Using the Resource

This free printable PDF provides interactive activities that reinforce WH questions ("What are these?" and "What are those?"), demonstrative pronouns, and school-related vocabulary. These activities are designed for parents, teachers, speech therapists, and ESL instructors to help children develop language, communication, and comprehension skills using engaging, real-life visuals.

1. Ask & Answer Activity (Basic WH Question Practice)

Objective: Teach children how to identify and respond correctly to WH questions using images of school supplies.

How to Play:

• Show the child a page from the printable.
• Read aloud the WH question:

• "What are these?" (pointing to close objects)
• "What are those?" (pointing to far objects)

• Encourage the child to observe the image and respond with a complete sentence, e.g.:

• "These are erasers."
• "Those are chalkboards."

• Reinforce correct responses by repeating the sentences together.

✅ Skills Developed:
✔ WH question comprehension
✔ Sentence-building skills
✔ Vocabulary expansion

2. Sorting Game – These vs. Those

Objective: Strengthen children's understanding of near vs. far objects by sorting images.

How to Play:

• Print and cut out all the images from the PDF.
• Create two labeled sections:
  ✅ "These" (close-up objects)
  ✅ "Those" (distant objects)
• Ask the child to sort the images into the correct category.
• Once sorted, they say a sentence for each card, e.g.:

• "These are glue sticks."
• "Those are bulletin boards."

✅ Skills Developed:
✔ Demonstrative pronoun understanding
✔ Visual discrimination
✔ Logical thinking

3. Matching Game – WH Question & Answer

Objective: Reinforce WH question comprehension through a matching activity.

How to Play:

• Print the WH question cards separately.
• Place all the school item images face down on one side.
• Place all the WH question cards face down on another side.
• The child flips over one WH question card and one school item card.
• If they match (e.g., "What are these?" + Picture of pencils), the child answers the question aloud.

✅ Skills Developed:
✔ WH question comprehension
✔ Memory recall
✔ Speech & language development

4. Describe the Object (Expanding Vocabulary)

Objective: Help children expand their vocabulary and descriptive skills.

How to Play:

• Show the child an image (e.g., a set of markers on a desk).
• Ask the WH question ("What are these?" or "What are those?").
• The child answers, but also describes more details, e.g.:

• "These are markers. They are colorful and used for drawing."

• Encourage additional details:

• "What are markers used for?"
• "Where do you usually find markers?"

✅ Skills Developed:
✔ Observation skills
✔ Expressive language development
✔ Sentence expansion

5. Real-Life WH Question Hunt

Objective: Help children apply their learning in real-world settings.

How to Play:

• Take the child on a walk around the classroom or home study area.
• Ask spontaneous WH questions based on what they see:

• "What are these?" (pointing to colored pencils on a desk)
• "What are those?" (pointing to whiteboards across the room)

• Encourage them to answer in full sentences.

✅ Skills Developed:
✔ Real-world language application
✔ Confidence in communication
✔ Attention to surroundings