Skill
Asks Questions to Learn
Child uses gestures, signs, or words to seek information and the names of things.
Ages 6–36 months
Why it matters
Asking questions — pointing with a rising "huh?", signing, or saying "What's that?" and "Why?" — shows a child is using communication as a tool to learn. Inquiry drives vocabulary growth and is the engine of curiosity-led learning.
Builds toward this milestone
- initiates non-verbal communication and language to learn and gain information. — Head Start ELOF
What mastery looks like
- Takes a turn in non-verbal exchanges to seek a response, using sounds, gestures, or signs.
- Asks a simple question with a point and rising intonation, a sign, or a word.
- Asks questions in words or signs such as "What's that?" or "Why?" to seek meaning.
How to observe it
- When the child sees something new, do they look to you with a sound, gesture, or word as if to ask about it?
- Does the child use "What's that?" or "Why?" to seek information?
Accessibility
- Treat a point with rising intonation, a questioning look, or an AAC question as asking.
- Respond warmly to every bid so the child learns that questions bring answers.
Activities
Evidence
- Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) — U.S. Office of Head Start · 2015 · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Early Atlas