Digraphs: sh, ch, th, wh, ck

• 1st grade
• CCSS RF.1.3a

A digraph is two letters that work together to make one sound. sh in ship, ch in chin, th in thin, wh in when and ck in duck. You can't sound them out letter by letter; you learn each pair as a team.

What is a digraph?

"Di" means two and "graph" means writing: two letters, one sound. In ship, the s and h don't say /s/ and /h/. Together they make a brand-new sound, /sh/. That's what makes digraphs different from blends, where you hear both letters.

The five digraphs kids learn first are sh, ch, th, wh and ck. Once they know them, words like shop, chat, then, whip and sock become as easy as CVC words, because the digraph acts like a single letter.

The 1st grade Common Core standard (RF.1.3a) asks kids to know the sounds of common consonant digraphs. Vowel pairs that make one sound, like ai and ee, are covered later in vowel teams.

The five common digraphs

Notice where each one usually appears in a word.

ck only comes right after a short vowel at the end of a word: back, neck, sick, lock, duck. After a long vowel or a consonant, it's just k: bake, milk.

Digraphs in words and sentences

The digraphs are highlighted. Read each one as a single sound.

1. ship, shop, fish
2. chin, chop, lunch
3. thin, that, bath
4. when, what, whip
5. duck, sock, back
6. The ship is big.
7. I had chips for lunch.
8. The duck can swim.
9. When is your bath?
10. A fish is in the dish.

Th has two sounds: a quiet one in thin and a buzzy one in that. Have your child put a hand on their throat to feel the difference.

Digraph or blend?

• Digraph: one new sound. sh in ship.
• Blend: two sounds you can hear. st in stop.
• Test: try saying each letter on its own. If that makes nonsense (/s/ /h/ /i/ /p/), it's a digraph.

How to teach digraphs

Five short steps, about 10 minutes each.

1. Give each a motion. sh: finger to lips. ch: a sneeze. th: tongue out a little. wh: blow out a candle. Movement helps memory.
2. Box the digraph. In each word, your child draws a box around the two letters that make one sound.
3. Swap in a digraph. Turn hop into shop, hip into chip, tin into thin.
4. Sort by digraph. Sort word cards into sh, ch and th piles.
5. Find ck words. List short words ending in /k/: back, neck, sick, lock, duck.

Common mistakes and how to fix them

Practice: digraphs quiz

10 questions. Your child can tap the speaker to hear a question read aloud. The first try on each question counts toward the score.

1. 1.Which word starts with a digraph?

   🔈
   ship stop sip
   Show answer

   ship: sh.

2. 2.Tap the word with a digraph.

   🔈

   I ate lunch.

   Show answer

   lunch: ch.

3. 3.Which digraph is in thin?

   🔈
   th sh
   Show answer

   th.

4. 4.How should you spell /k/ at the end of du_?

   🔈
   ck k
   Show answer

   duck.

5. 5.Change the h in hop to sh.

   🔈
   shop stop
   Show answer

   shop.

6. 6.Tap the word with a digraph.

   🔈

   When can we go?

   Show answer

   When: wh.

7. 7.Which word ends with a digraph?

   🔈
   fish fist fin
   Show answer

   fish: sh.

8. 8.How many sounds does sh make?

   🔈
   1 2
   Show answer

   1.

9. 9.Which word has ch?

   🔈
   chip ship tip
   Show answer

   chip.

10. 10.Which is spelled right?

    🔈
    back bak
    Show answer

    back.

Digraphs: sh, ch, th, wh, ck worksheet (free PDF)

Digraphs: sh, ch, th, wh, ck Worksheet, 1st grade

Fill in sh, ch, th, wh and ck, sort words by digraph, swap a letter for a digraph and write a sentence. Prints on US Letter paper, with an answer key.

Download the PDF

Try it at home

• Digraph motions: use a motion for each sound while reading.
• Kitchen hunt: chips, cheese, dish, fish, lunch.
• Box it: draw boxes around digraphs in a story.
• Bath time: "bath" has th. What else does?
• Swap game: hop to shop, hip to chip, tin to thin.

What comes next

Next, kids learn silent e, which makes a vowel say its name. See all 1st grade skills on the 1st grade page, or browse all phonics lessons.

Last reviewed: November 11, 2026

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