Year 1 English: More consonant digraphs: ng, nk, wh and ph
Part of the Year 1 English two letters, one sound (digraphs) chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
More consonant digraphs: ng, nk, wh and ph
Some digraphs come at the end of a word. ng is the sound at the end of ring. nk is the sound at the end of sink. Look at the last two letters: ring ends in n and g, and sink ends in n and k.
wh is at the start of whisk. ph makes the same sound as f in fish. You can find it in dolphin.
| Letters | Example words |
|---|---|
| ng | ring, king, wing, swing |
| nk | sink, pink, drink, think |
| wh | whisk, when, whip |
| ph | dolphin |
Key ideas
- ng is at the end of ring, king and wing.
- nk is at the end of sink, pink and drink.
- wh is at the start of whisk and when.
- ph makes the f sound, as in dolphin.
Key words. A sound box holds one sound. A digraph is two letters that make one sound.
Method. Say the word slowly. Put the letters for each sound in one box.
- Say the word slowly, one sound at a time. Say each sound on its own, like a robot.th - i - nk
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: th, nk.th | i | nk
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. th, i, nk
Check. Push the boxes together again: th + i + nk makes think. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of th in one box. Do not split th into separate letters.
Key words. Blend means to push the sounds together to read a word.
Method. Say each sound, then push the sounds together to make the word.
- Say the first sound. Use the letters for that sound together.wh
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.wh - i - s - k
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.whisk
- Write the answer. whisk
Check. Split the word back into sounds: wh, i, s, k. ✓
Watch out. Say wh as one sound, not as two separate letters.
Method. Look at the picture, then build the word from its sounds.
- Look at the picture. Say what it is, in one word.The picture shows a whisk.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.wh | i | s | k
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.whisk
Check. Read the sounds back in order: wh - i - s - k makes whisk. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of wh together, in one box.
Watch out
Watch out: ng and nk look alike. ring ends with ng, but rink ends with nk. A rink is a different word, so check the last two letters.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Ask your child to say ring and then sing. The end sound is the same. Show the letters ng and nk side by side, and point to the last two letters of each word.
Exercise 2B Reading and splitting ng, nk, wh and ph words
Method. Look at the picture, then build the word from its sounds.
- Look at the picture. Say what it is, in one word.The picture shows a ring.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.r | i | ng
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.ring
Check. Read the sounds back in order: r - i - ng makes ring. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of ng together, in one box.
Method. Look at the picture, then build the word from its sounds.
- Look at the picture. Say what it is, in one word.The picture shows a whisk.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.wh | i | s | k
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.whisk
Check. Read the sounds back in order: wh - i - s - k makes whisk. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of wh together, in one box.
Method. Look at the picture, then build the word from its sounds.
- Look at the picture. Say what it is, in one word.The picture shows a dolphin.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.d | o | l | ph | i | n
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.dolphin
Check. Read the sounds back in order: d - o - l - ph - i - n makes dolphin. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of ph together, in one box.
Method. Look at the end of the word king. Find the last two letters.
- Say king in sound boxes. The end sound is the last box.k | i | ng
- Look at the last box. ng is one box, with two letters that make one sound.ng
- Write the answer. ng
Check. Read the last two letters of king: n, g. They make ng. ✓
Watch out. Do not write nk here. king ends with n and g.
Key words. A sound box holds one sound. A digraph is two letters that make one sound.
Method. Say the word slowly. Put the letters for each sound in one box.
- Say the word slowly, one sound at a time. Say each sound on its own, like a robot.th - i - nk
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: th, nk.th | i | nk
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. th, i, nk
Check. Push the boxes together again: th + i + nk makes think. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of th in one box. Do not split th into separate letters.
Key words. A sound box holds one sound. A digraph is two letters that make one sound.
Method. Say the word slowly. Put the letters for each sound in one box.
- Say the word slowly, one sound at a time. Say each sound on its own, like a robot.w - i - ng
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: ng.w | i | ng
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. w, i, ng
Check. Push the boxes together again: w + i + ng makes wing. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of ng in one box. Do not split ng into separate letters.
Key words. A sound box holds one sound. A digraph is two letters that make one sound.
Method. Say the word slowly. Put the letters for each sound in one box.
- Say the word slowly, one sound at a time. Say each sound on its own, like a robot.d - r - i - nk
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: nk.d | r | i | nk
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.4 sounds
- Write the answer. d, r, i, nk
Check. Push the boxes together again: d + r + i + nk makes drink. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of nk in one box. Do not split nk into separate letters.
Key words. Blend means to push the sounds together to read a word.
Method. Say each sound, then push the sounds together to make the word.
- Say the first sound. Use the letters for that sound together.wh
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.wh - e - n
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.when
- Write the answer. when
Check. Split the word back into sounds: wh, e, n. ✓
Watch out. Say wh as one sound, not as two separate letters.
Key words. Blend means to push the sounds together to read a word.
Method. Say each sound, then push the sounds together to make the word.
- Say the first sound. Use the letters for that sound together.b
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.b - a - nk
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.bank
- Write the answer. bank
Check. Split the word back into sounds: b, a, nk. ✓
Watch out. Say nk as one sound, not as two separate letters.
Key words. Blend means to push the sounds together to read a word.
Method. Say each sound, then push the sounds together to make the word.
- Say the first sound. Use the letters for that sound together.l
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.l - o - ng
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.long
- Write the answer. long
Check. Split the word back into sounds: l, o, ng. ✓
Watch out. Say ng as one sound, not as two separate letters.
dol?in
Method. Look at the picture, then find the letters for the missing sound.
- Look at the picture. The picture shows the whole word.The picture shows a dolphin.
- Find the missing sound. The gap is one sound, so it can need two or three letters.Missing sound: ph
- Write the letters in the gap. Fill the gap, then read the whole word again.ph
Check. Put ph in the gap and read the word: dolphin. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of the digraph in the gap, not just one.
Method. Look at the last two letters of each word.
- Look at sink, pink and drink. Each one ends with n and k.nk, nk, nk
- Look at king. king ends with n and g, so it ends with ng.ng
- Write the odd one out. It is the only word that does not end with nk.king
Check. sink, pink, drink end in nk. king ends in ng. ✓
Watch out. Look at the last two letters, not the first letter.
Method. Check the last two letters of ring. Then check the word rink.
- Look at ring. The end sound is ng.ring: n, g = ng
- Look at rink. rink ends with n and k, which is nk.rink: n, k = nk
- Compare the two. They are different words with different end sounds.No. A ring ends with ng.
Check. Say the picture’s word: ring. Its end is n-g. ✓
Watch out. rink is a different word. Look at the last two letters.
Method. Write two words that end with nk and two words that end with ng.
- Think of words that end with nk. Look for n and k at the end.sink, drink
- Think of words that end with ng. Look for n and g at the end.ring, king
- Write your four words. Check the last two letters of each one.sink, drink (nk); ring, king (ng)
Check. Read each word and check its last two letters. ✓
Watch out. nk is n and then k. ng is n and then g. Say each word slowly and look at the end.