Teaching Digraphs
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Are you ready to conquer DIGRAPHS?
Once a child masters CVC Words it is time to move on to more complex word structures.
Digraphs are a great place to start.
What is a digraph?
A digraph is a single sound (phoneme) that can be represented with two letters.
A consonant digraph joins two consonants together to make one sound.
We are ready for digraphs! I decided to create some fun, hands-on, engaging and a cohesive sets of printables that would help teach the sh, th, ch, wh, ph and ck digraphs. These packets are found in our Digraph Bundle {HERE}.
Learning is at its BEST when it becomes a game!
Chunking words can help students separate the sounds. In this activity, students will trace the word, separate and write the sounds, and then write the word. This will helps students learn out to sound out and spell words, focusing on words with beginning and ending digraphs.
In the Roll and Write activity, students roll a dice and trace a beginning or ending digraph word in that row. The activity is fast paced and fun!
Each digraph packet includes and ending and beginning digraph page.
The letter boxes allow students to focus on one digraph sound at a time. This activity will allow them to connect the visual with the digraph sound and the written word.
I love using dice, especially HUGE dice, to making reading into a game. In this activity, we roll the die, read the words in that box and color a star to match. This simple activity is fast paced and FUN!
Read the simple sentences, highlight the digraph words and color a picture to match.
You can practice fluency with the Roll and Read Digraph Stories! This simple stories allow students to read beginning and ending digraph words in context. Students roll a die and read the story in that box. Continue playing until all stories have been read 3 times each! Fun fluency practice at its best!
Here are a few pictures of the sh digraph packet in action…
Begin by introducing the consonant digraph as one sound. Adding pictures to support the digraph is very important, which is what you will see throughout the series.
I begin by introducing the sh digraph at the beginning of the word..
This simple page introduces the students to sh digraph alone, in a word and in a sentence.
Students show understanding by drawing and labeling the picture.
The sh digraph is introduced with several pictures/visuals to aid in understanding.
Students say the name of the picture, trace the word and color the picture.
This page provides us with a beginning digraph word list…
Pull out the pencil, pen and colored markers!
This simple activity lets students work on reading and writing sh words three times each.
At the end of this activity, students have writing the sh digraph 21 times!
Match it Up page (cut and paste)…
Cut, paste, trace and match…
We pulled out the water colors and made an art project out of it.
The entire time she is painting, she is thinking about the SHell, or the SHark or SHip.
Such a simple, fun and effective way to learn and master digraphs.
Does it begin with the SH sound or s sound?
This cut and paste activity works on isolating the beginning sound…
Graphing SH Words
Use the pictures to graph the words…
Everything is more fun with watercolored pencils…
Reading Comprehension Checks with SH Words…
Begin by highlighting all of the sh words in the story.
Read the story and answer the comprehension questions.
Making sentences with sh words…
Sh Crossword Puzzle
Use the pictures and the word bank to write words that begin and end with sh…
Roll and Write Sh Words
Roll a die and read a word in the row.
Use the color code to trace each sh word.
We spiced up this activity with colored markers and a jumbo die!
FUN, FUN, FUN!
Word Search for Sh Words…
Grab the Bingo Dabers and dot and take turns reading and dotting sh words!
This was a fun way to wrap up the sh packet and really helped with fluency!
Our Digraph packets are sold individually or available as a bundle.
The bundle covers the following digraphs:
sh, th, ch, ck, ph and wh
I hope these Digraph packets make learning FUN, HANDS-ON and EFFECTIVE!
Not ready for digraphs?
Check out our CVC post to help build fluency and confidence in beginning readers!
Not ready for digraphs?
Check out our CVC post to help build fluency and confidence in beginning readers!
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Annie Moffatt
Annie Moffatt is a former elementary school teacher and homeschool mom with a passion for helping young learners thrive. With a background in early education and a heart for making learning fun, Annie designs engaging, low-prep resources that build confidence and success in the classroom. Her hands-on, kid-friendly approach has supported thousands of teachers and parents around the world in creating joyful learning experiences for their students.
Hi Annie! I LOVE your work!
Where have you bought the colorful dices? I would like to buy them to my children.
Thank you!!! 🙂
Hi Saleta,
The ones that you see on this post are from Lakeshore Learning. You can also find similar ones on my Amazon recommendation page: Click Here. I hope that helps!
Kindly,
Annie
Can you please tell me where to purchase the magnetic letters (blue consonants, red vowels)? Are they foam or plastic? Do they come with a sorting tray?