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Exploring how two letters can come together to make a new sound like 'sh' or 'ch'.
What if you had a magic wand that could turn two separate letters into a brand-new secret sound? Imagine 's' and 'h' joining forces to make the sound you use when you tell someone to be quiet: 'shhh!'
In the world of reading, some letters are best friends. When they stand next to each other, they don't make their own sounds anymore. Instead, they work together to make one brand-new sound. This is called a digraph.
Think of the letters and . On their own, they say /s/ and /h/. But when they team up, they become , which makes the sound you hear in ship or wish. Other famous teams include (like in chip) and (like in math). Because they make only one sound, we treat them as a single unit when we read!
Let's build words using the team: 1. Start with the team: 2. Add a word family: 3. Put them together: 4. Try it at the end:
Quick Check
Which digraph team makes the sound you hear at the start of the word 'cheese'?
Answer
The digraph 'ch' makes the sound in 'cheese'.
Sometimes, letters don't make a brand-new sound. Instead, they slide together very quickly, like ingredients in a smoothie. This is called a blend. In a blend, you can still hear each letter's sound, but they are blurred together.
Look at the word stop. You can hear the /s/ and the /t/, but they move fast: . Blends can happen at the beginning of words, like in flag, or at the end of words, like in best. Unlike digraphs, blends keep their original sounds—they just like to move fast!
Let's blend the sounds in the word 'frog': 1. Say the first sound: /f/ 2. Say the second sound: /r/ 3. Slide them together: /fr/ 4. Add the rest:
Quick Check
In the word 'blast', can you hear both the 'b' and the 'l' at the beginning?
Answer
Yes, because 'bl' is a blend where both sounds are heard.
Now that you know the difference between best friends (digraphs) and smoothie mixes (blends), you can read almost anything! You might even find a word that has both.
When you see a word you don't know, look for these teams first. If you see , , or , remember they make one sound. If you see two consonants like or , get ready to slide them together. Reading is like solving a puzzle where the letters are the pieces!
Let's decode the word 'brush': 1. Identify the blend at the start: 2. Identify the vowel in the middle: 3. Identify the digraph at the end: 4. Combine:
Which of these is a digraph (two letters, one sound)?
In the word 'flag', what is the blend?
In a blend like 'st', you can hear both the 's' and the 't' sounds.
Review Tomorrow
In 24 hours, look around your room and try to find three objects that start with 'sh' or 'ch'.
Practice Activity
Try this on your own: Take the word family '-at' and see how many words you can make by adding blends (like 'fl-') or digraphs (like 'th-') to the front!