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

Understanding WH questions is a crucial skill for early language development, communication, and sentence structure. Learning to distinguish between “What are these?” and “What are those?” helps children develop a strong foundation in demonstrative pronouns, vocabulary expansion, and object identification.

This free printable PDF introduces children to common toys while reinforcing WH question comprehension through engaging real-world images. Using interactive learning strategies, this resource is perfect for:

✔ Parents & Homeschoolers seeking fun and structured language-building activities.
✔ Teachers & Educators working with preschoolers and early learners.
✔ Speech & Special Education Therapists supporting children with language delays.
✔ ESL Instructors helping young learners grasp demonstrative pronouns and sentence formation.

With real-life toy images, this printable enhances engagement and ensures children can easily relate to the learning material, making it an ideal tool for early childhood education, speech therapy, and special needs learning environments.

Product Details

• Resource Name: What Are These and Those? WH Questions – Toys (Free Printable PDF)
• Format: Free Printable PDF
• Total Pages: 6
• Content:
  • Each page contains two WH question activity sets (total of 12 sets).
  • Each set includes an image of toys with a hand pointing to nearby objects (these) or distant objects (those).
  • The answer is provided as a complete sentence (e.g., "These are dolls.")

Examples of Included Sets:

✔ What are these? – Image of building blocks near a child → These are blocks.
✔ What are those? – Image of teddy bears on a shelf → Those are teddy bears.
✔ What are these? – Image of toy cars on a table → These are toy cars.
✔ What are those? – Image of bicycles across the playground → Those are bicycles.

This simple yet effective format helps children grasp WH questions naturally while learning about toys they see in everyday life.

Educational Benefits

The What Are These and Those? WH Questions – Toys 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 demonstrative pronouns ("these" vs. "those") using real-world images.

2. Develops Speech & Language Skills

• Encourages full-sentence responses (e.g., These are puzzles.).
• Expands toy-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

• Ideal for children with autism, speech delays, and communication disorders.
• Provides structured and predictable learning, making it easier for neurodivergent learners.
• Assists 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 6-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 action figures."
  • "Those are toy trains."
• 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 stuffed animals." / "Those are toy planes.").

4. Matching Game – WH Question & Answer

• Print out the WH question cards separately.
• Lay out the toy 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 toy blocks in a playroom and ask, "What are these?" → Answer: "These are blocks."
  • Show stuffed animals on a high shelf and ask, "What are those?" → Answer: "Those are teddy bears."
• This helps children apply their learning to everyday situations, improving retention.

Activities Using the Resource

This free printable PDF provides interactive, hands-on activities that help children master WH questions ("What are these?" and "What are those?"), demonstrative pronouns, and toy-related vocabulary. These activities are designed for parents, teachers, speech therapists, and ESL instructors to support language development, communication skills, and comprehension in a fun and engaging way.

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

Objective: Teach children how to correctly identify and answer WH questions using images of toys.

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 toy trains."
• "Those are teddy bears."

• 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 toys)
  ✅ "Those" (distant toys)
• Ask the child to sort the images into the correct category.
• Once sorted, they say a sentence for each card, e.g.:

• "These are toy blocks."
• "Those are rocking horses."

✅ 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 toy 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 toy image card.
• If they match (e.g., "What are these?" + Picture of toy cars), 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 dolls on a table).
• Ask the WH question ("What are these?" or "What are those?").
• The child answers but also describes more details, e.g.:

• "These are dolls. They have colorful dresses and long hair."

• Encourage additional details:

• "What do dolls do?"
• "Where do you usually find dolls?"

✅ 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 toy hunt around the house or classroom.
• Ask spontaneous WH questions based on what they see:

• "What are these?" (pointing to toy blocks on the floor)
• "What are those?" (pointing to board games on a shelf)

• Encourage them to answer in full sentences.

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

Conclusion

The What Are These and Those? WH Questions – Toys (Free Printable PDF) provides an engaging, structured, and interactive way for children to practice WH questions, learn demonstrative pronouns, and improve sentence-building skills.

By using real-world images and structured prompts, this printable strengthens language development, speech clarity, and observation skills, making it an essential tool for parents, teachers, and speech therapists.

Download today and help children develop strong WH question skills!