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.
The six core digraphs
- ch — chip, chat, chin, beach, lunch.
- sh — ship, shop, fish, wash, brush.
- th (voiceless) — thin, thumb, bath, three, math.
- th (voiced) — this, that, the, mother, brother.
- 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.
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.