I love cheese and I love salsa both on their own. Yum, yum, yum. BUT… when you put them together and make queso, it’s a match made in heaven! The cheese and the salsa come together to make something even better together than they are on their own!
That reminds me of digraphs! You take two things, put them together, and they make something completely new and different! Let’s get into how to teach digraphs.
What is a digraph?
A digraph is two letters that work together to make one sound. That one sound is usually different from either of the sounds the two letters make on their own.
There are two types of digraphs: consonant digraphs and vowel digraphs.
- Consonant digraphs are made of two consonants that make one sound.
- Vowel digraphs are made of two letters, at least one of which is a vowel, that together make one sound.
Vowel digraphs are sometimes called vowel teams instead. For this post, I will be focusing primarily on consonant digraphs.
Examples of the most common consonant digraphs: sh, ch, th, wh
Most teachers will introduce digraphs to their students in kinder after they’ve gained a strong understanding of individual consonant and short vowel sounds. Digraphs are usually reviewed and reinforced in 1st grade and 2nd grade.
Here is My Favorite Way to Teach Digraphs:
Digraphs are so much fun to teach! Here is my absolute favorite how-to for teaching digraphs!
You’ll need: blue and yellow paint, and magnetic letters or letter cards.
Step 1:
On thick paper, place a small amount of blue paint and a small amount of yellow paint next to it. Then, ask your students what two colors they see.
Step 2:
Blend the two paint dabs together and ask students what new color the blue and yellow paint made together.
Connect it to digraphs: Explain to your students that this is just like how digraphs work! Say, “Just like these two colors made a new color when put together, two letters can make a new sound when put together, too!”
Step 3:
Use your magnet letters or letter cards to display the letters S and H separately. Ask students what sounds the two letters make individually.
Step 4:
Push the S and the H together to make /sh/ and tell your students what sound they make together. Have your students practice the sound by mimicking you!
Here are 8 Simple Ways to Gamify Teaching Digraphs
1. Digraph Freeze
Have your students briskly walk around your classroom as you say words out loud. When they hear a word with the focus digraph, they freeze. Anyone who continues moving is out and the last player standing wins!
2. Head and Toes
Prep a list of words with your focus digraph at the beginning or the end. Have your students stand next to their seats. If they hear the digraph at the beginning of the word, have them put their hands on their heads. If they hear the digraph at the end of the word, have them put their hands on their toes. *Challenge: Add words with digraphs in the middle and have students touch waists.
3. Mystery Bag
Grab a bag and fill it with items or pictures of items with your focus digraph. Give clues and let kids guess what the item might be.
Challenge: You can make this even more challenging by having them write their guess on a whiteboard to show you.
4. Digraph Hopscotch
Take the kiddos outside for some fun! Draw a hopscotch that features two single blocks followed by a double block. Write the individual consonants in the single blocks and then the digraph in the double box. As they hop, have them make the two individual sounds, then the digraph sound as they hop on the double block.
5. Digraph Go PHish
Make a deck of letter cards with C, S, P, W, T, and plenty of Hs. Play like traditional Go Fish, but instead of matching identical letters, students collect two letters that form a digraph!
For example, if a student has an S, they can ask another player for an H. If they get it, they put down SH as a match. If not, they go fish! The player with the most digraphs at the end wins.
6. Read-Aloud
Read a book that has lots of words with the focus digraph. Have kids touch a part of their body or clothing that has the digraph. For example, touch their shoe for SH words, tooth for TH words, and chin for CH words.
7. Digraph Hokey-Pokey
Do the Hokey-Pokey! Together with your class, sing and dance to the Digraph Hokey-Pokey song (see the words above). Show each letter separately, then put them together for the last line. Get the FREE DIGRAPH HOKEY POKEY here
8. Sorts
After introducing 2 or more digraphs, have students sort picture cards to identify the digraph in each word. This bundle has over 100 phonics sorts, including digraphs.
Want some ready-to-go digraph games?
If you’re looking for more fun ways to practice digraphs, check out my Digraph Phonics Games Bundle!
You’ll get 5 different games with 26 game boards for SH, CH, TH, WH, CK, and mixed digraph review.
They’re perfect for centers, small groups, and partner practice. And since kids can play the same games with different skills, you won’t have to keep teaching new directions!
Remember, teaching digraphs can be a tricky concept for little ones to grasp but it can also be so much fun! All you need to do is demonstrate how two things can combine to make one new thing and then practice, practice, practice!
If you have any questions about or ideas about how to teach digraphs, please leave them below!
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