Grade by Grade
B. Foundations of Language · Sounds, Letters and Reading Words

Digraphs and Blends: sh, ch, th, ck, fr, st and More

B2.3 B2.4About 35 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can read and say the sounds of sh, ch, th, wh, ck and ng.
  • I can tell the difference between a digraph (one sound) and a blend (two sounds).
  • I can read words like ship, chop, duck, frog, stop and jump.

Words to know

digraph
Two letters that work together to make one new sound, like sh in ship.
blend
Two or more consonants side by side where you still hear each sound, like fr in frog.
ck
Two letters that make one /k/ sound, usually at the end of a short-vowel word, like duck.

Two letters, one sound

Put your finger to your lips and say "Shhh!" That quiet sound is made by two letters together: s and h.

When two letters team up to make one sound, it is called a digraph. (Say it: dye-graf.)

DigraphSoundStart of a wordEnd of a word
sh/sh/ (quiet, like a librarian)ship 🚢, shell 🐚, shopfish 🐟, dish, wish
ch/ch/ (like a train: ch-ch)chin, chip, choplunch, bench, much
th/th/ (tongue between teeth)thin, thumb 👍, this, thatbath 🛁, math, with
wh/w/when, whip, whale 🐳(not at the end)
ck/k/(not at the start)duck 🦆, sock 🧦, back
ng/ng/(not at the start)ring 💍, sing, long
Common digraphs
fishbenchbathduck
Each underlined letter team is a digraph: two letters that make one sound.

th has two sounds

Put your hand on your throat.

  • Say thin: no buzz. This is the quiet th.
  • Say this: you feel a buzz! This is the noisy th.

Both are spelled th, and your tongue peeks out between your teeth for both.

Blends: every sound still talks

A blend is different. In a blend, two consonants sit side by side, but you still hear both sounds.

  • frog: /f/ /r/ ... you hear both!
  • stop: /s/ /t/
  • clap: /c/ /l/

Blends at the start: bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl, br, cr, dr, fr, gr, tr, sc, sk, sm, sn, sp, st, sw

Blends at the end: -st (nest), -mp (jump), -nd (hand), -nt (tent), -sk (mask), -lk (milk)

Digraph (1 sound)Blend (2 sounds)
ship → /sh/ /i/ /p/ (3 sounds)slip → /s/ /l/ /i/ /p/ (4 sounds)
chop → /ch/ /o/ /p/ (3 sounds)clop → /c/ /l/ /o/ /p/ (4 sounds)
thin → /th/ /i/ /n/ (3 sounds)twin → /t/ /w/ /i/ /n/ (4 sounds)
Digraph or blend? Count the sounds.
Digraph: sh is ONE soundshipship = 3 soundsBlend: s and l are TWO soundsslipslip = 4 soundsone boxfor each sound
Sound boxes: one box for each sound. A digraph shares one box. A blend needs two boxes.
Worked example

Let's read a word with a digraph

Read: shell

  1. Look for letter teams. I see sh at the start and ll at the end.
  2. sh says /sh/. e says /e/. ll says /l/ (two l's, one sound).
  3. Blend: /sh/ /e/ /l/ → shell. 🐚

The word is shell. It has 3 sounds.

Worked example

Let's read a word with blends

Read: stamp

  1. st at the start is a blend: /s/ /t/.
  2. a says /a/.
  3. mp at the end is a blend: /m/ /p/.
  4. Blend all 5 sounds: /s/ /t/ /a/ /m/ /p/ → stamp.

The word is stamp.

Just for fun

What do you call a fish with no eyes?

A fsh! 🐟 (Without the i, the poor fish has no vowel sound at all.)

Bigger words you can now read

  • CCVC (blend at the start): frog, stop, clap, drum, flag, snap, trip
  • CVCC (blend at the end): jump, hand, nest, tent, milk, lamp
  • CCVCC (blend at both ends): stamp, plant, crisp, blend, trust
Hands-on activity

Sound sort with socks

You need: 2 socks (or 2 bowls) and 10 small paper cards.

  1. Label one sock sh and one sock ch.
  2. A grown-up writes these words on cards: ship, chin, fish, lunch, shop, chop, dish, bench, shell, chip.
  3. Read each card. Put it in the sock that matches its digraph.
  4. Then go on a home hunt: find a shirt, a chair, a thumb, a sock!

Check: sh sock: ship, fish, shop, dish, shell. ch sock: chin, lunch, chop, bench, chip.

Your turn

1

Read: ship

2

Read: chop

3

Read: duck

4

Read: frog

5

Is sh in fish a digraph or a blend?

6

Is st in stop a digraph or a blend?

7

Which letters are missing? ___ip (a boat) 🚢

More practice: warm-up

1

Read: bath

2

Read: sock

3

Read: ring

4

What sound do c and h make together?

5

Read: jump

More practice: on your own

1

Read: lunch. How many sounds?

2

Read: black. Find the blend and the digraph.

3

Which word starts with a blend: ship, trip, chip?

4

Read: The fish is in the dish.

5

Add a letter team to make a word: ___ale (a very big sea animal) 🐳

Challenge

1

Read: Chad has a thick red shell.

2

How many sounds in chimp? Explain.

3

Sort these words. Which have a digraph and which have a blend? path, slip, much, nest

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which word starts with the digraph sh?

2.

Which word ends with ch?

3.

How many sounds are in chip?

4.

Which word starts with a blend?

5.

What sound does ck make in duck?

6.

Which word has a blend at the end?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh, ck, ng) are two letters for one sound. Blends are consonant clusters where each sound is still heard. Grade 1 students decode and spell words with structures CVC, CCVC, CVCC and CCVCC (B2.3, B2.4).

How to help at home:

  • Point out digraphs in signs and packages: "Shoppers", "Cheerios", "Bathroom".
  • When your child reads "s-h-i-p" sound by sound, remind them: "s and h are a team. What do they say together?"
  • Have your child underline digraphs with one colour and blends with another.

Common difficulties:

  • Reading sh as /s/ /h/. Teach children to scan the word for letter teams before sounding out.
  • Dropping a sound in a blend ("fog" for frog, "jup" for jump). Have them tap each sound on their fingers.
  • th voiced vs. unvoiced. Both spellings are th; the throat test helps, but either sound usually leads to the right word in context.
  • wh: In most Canadian English, wh sounds just like /w/.