A digraph is two letters that make one sound. Once kids have the 26 single letters solid, digraphs are the next big hurdle — and the place where many “they know all the letters” kids suddenly stall. Here’s how to teach the six most common ones.
Digraphs open Stage 4 of the full learning sequence — see the digraphs & blends stage in the phonics roadmap for where this fits and what to teach alongside it.
Download the cheat sheet
Digraph Cheat Sheet (Free PDF) — ch, sh, th, ph, wh, ng on one page. No email required.
The six core digraphs
- ch — chip, chat, chin, beach, lunch.
- sh — ship, shop, fish, wash, brush.
- th (voiceless) — thin, thumb, bath, three, math. Hear /θ/.
- th (voiced) — this, that, the, mother, brother. Hear /ð/.
- ph — phone, photo, graph, dolphin.
- wh — when, what, wheel, whale.
- ng — ring, king, sing, bang, long.
Why digraphs trip kids up
Up until digraphs, the rule was simple: one letter, one sound. Then suddenly “chip” doesn’t start with /c/-/h/, it starts with /ch/. Kids who’ve mastered single letters often try to sound out “c-h-i-p” and end up with “cuhip.”
The fix is to explicitly teach digraphs as a new kind of letter — a “letter team” that works together. Frame them as a pair you draw a box around.
A 6-week digraph plan
Week 1 — sh
Easiest to start with because it stretches: shhhhhhh. Show the pattern with words: ship, fish, wish, ash, push. Read 3 books that use sh-words heavily.
Week 2 — ch
Short and punchy. Group with sh to compare: ship/chip, shop/chop. Kids love feeling the difference — ch is a quick puff, sh is a long hiss.
Week 3 — th (voiceless)
Tongue between the teeth, blow air. The /th/ in “thin” or “math.” Show a mirror so your kid can see their tongue — this is a hard one for ESL kids especially.
Week 4 — th (voiced)
Same mouth shape as voiceless th, but turn the voice on. Feel the buzz on the tongue. “This,” “that,” “the.” Most kindergarten phonics doesn’t bother distinguishing the two — both spelled “th” — but it’s worth a mention so your kid notices the difference.
Week 5 — ng
Always at the end of a word. Ring, king, sing, song, sang. Most kids get this immediately because it sounds like saying “n” with the back of your throat.
Week 6 — ph + wh
Combine these because they’re rare. PH says /f/ (phone, photo). WH says /w/ in most dialects (when, what). Teach them as spelling-recognition rules, not as new sounds.
The 3 most common kid mistakes
- Sounding out both letters.“c-h-i-p” → “cuhip.” Fix: cover the digraph with a finger box. “The c-and-h are a team. They say /ch/. Together: chip.”
- Mixing sh and ch. Often a stretch issue. Drill contrast pairs: ship/chip, sheep/cheap, shop/chop.
- Reading “th” as “t.”ESL kids especially. Have them put a finger on their tongue while they say “thin” — the tongue should stick out past the teeth.
Digraph practice worksheets
Want your child to write each word too, not just read it? These worksheets cover ch, sh, th, ng, ph, and wh, plus a dedicated sh-vs-ch contrast drill using the exact pairs mentioned above (ship/chip, shop/chop, sheep/cheap).
Download all 6 worksheets (100 words + 3 pairs, Free PDF) — read each word out loud, then write it on the line. No email required.
- CH worksheet (20 words, PDF)
- SH worksheet (20 words, PDF)
- TH worksheet (20 words, PDF)
- NG worksheet (20 words, PDF)
- PH & WH worksheet (20 words, PDF)
- SH vs CH minimal pairs (3 pairs, PDF)
Free practice
Drill digraphs in Sound Match — turn it on and skip ahead to the digraph section. The phoneme map has audio + mouth-shape guide for every digraph above.