Year 1 English: Two letters, one sound: sh, ch and th
Part of the Year 1 English two letters, one sound (digraphs) chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page · Download worksheet (PDF) · Answers (PDF)
Two letters, one sound: sh, ch and th
Some sounds are written with two letters. Two letters that make one sound are called a digraph.
Look at sh at the start of ship. The s and the h work as a team. Together they make one sound, so they share one box.
Blending means reading a word. Say each sound, then push the sounds together.
| Letters | Example words |
|---|---|
| sh | ship, fish, shell |
| ch | chin, chick, bench |
| th | thin, thick, this, bath |
Key ideas
- A digraph is two letters that make one sound.
- sh, ch and th are digraphs.
- Put both letters of a digraph in one sound box.
- To read a word, blend the sounds: say them, then push them together.
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.sh
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.sh - i - p
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.ship
- Write the answer. ship
Check. Split the word back into sounds: sh, i, p. ✓
Watch out. Say sh as one sound, not as two 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.ch - i - ck
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: ch, ck.ch | i | ck
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. ch, i, ck
Check. Push the boxes together again: ch + i + ck makes chick. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of ch in one box. Do not split ch into 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 bath.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.b | a | th
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.bath
Check. Read the sounds back in order: b - a - th makes bath. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of th together, in one box.
Watch out
Watch out: th can make two sounds. The th in thin and the th in this are both written th. Do not split sh into s and h. It is one sound.
Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Point under each sound box with a finger. Say the sounds, for example sh, i, p, then push them together: ship. Use letter cards for sh, ch and th, and let your child build the words.
Exercise 2A Reading and splitting sh, ch and th 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 ship.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.sh | i | p
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.ship
Check. Read the sounds back in order: sh - i - p makes ship. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of sh 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 fish.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.f | i | sh
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.fish
Check. Read the sounds back in order: f - i - sh makes fish. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of sh 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 chick.
- Split the word into sounds. Two letters that make one sound go in one box.ch | i | ck
- Write the word. Write each sound in order, with its letters together.chick
Check. Read the sounds back in order: ch - i - ck makes chick. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of ch together, in one box.
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.sh - o - p
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: sh.sh | o | p
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. sh, o, p
Check. Push the boxes together again: sh + o + p makes shop. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of sh in one box. Do not split sh 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.ch - i - n
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: ch.ch | i | n
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. ch, i, n
Check. Push the boxes together again: ch + i + n makes chin. ✓
Watch out. Keep the letters of ch in one box. Do not split ch 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.th - i - n
- Put the letters for each sound in a box. Two or three letters that make one sound share one box: th.th | i | n
- Count the boxes. Each box is one sound.3 sounds
- Write the answer. th, i, n
Check. Push the boxes together again: th + i + n makes thin. ✓
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.sh
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.sh - u - t
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.shut
- Write the answer. shut
Check. Split the word back into sounds: sh, u, t. ✓
Watch out. Say sh 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.ch
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.ch - o - p
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.chop
- Write the answer. chop
Check. Split the word back into sounds: ch, o, p. ✓
Watch out. Say ch 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.th
- Say the sounds in order. Keep going until you reach the last sound.th - i - n
- Push the sounds together and read the word. Read them quickly, as one word.thin
- Write the answer. thin
Check. Split the word back into sounds: th, i, n. ✓
Watch out. Say th as one sound, not as two separate letters.
?ell
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 shell.
- Find the missing sound. The gap is one sound, so it can need two or three letters.Missing sound: sh
- Write the letters in the gap. Fill the gap, then read the whole word again.sh
Check. Put sh in the gap and read the word: shell. ✓
Watch out. Write both letters of the digraph in the gap, not just one.
Method. Find the word that starts with the letters c and h together.
- Look at the start of each word. Only one word starts with ch.shop: sh | chin: ch | thin: th
- Find the word with ch. chin starts with the sound made by ch.chin
- Write the answer. chin
Check. shop starts with sh, and thin starts with th. Only chin starts with ch. ✓
Watch out. Check the first two letters. sh, ch and th look alike, so read them slowly.
Method. Look for the letters sh in each word. The word without sh is the odd one out.
- Look at shop, ship and shed. Each of these has the letters sh.shop, ship, shed: sh
- Look at chip. chip has ch, not sh.chip: ch
- Write the odd one out. chip
Check. Sound boxes for chip: ch | i | p. There is no sh box. ✓
Watch out. chip looks like ship, but the first two letters are ch, not sh.
Method. Split the word ship into sound boxes, then compare with what Tom wrote.
- Split ship into sound boxes. sh is one box.sh | i | p
- Look at what Tom wrote. Tom wrote sip. It has only three letters.sip: s | i | p
- Compare the two. The h is missing from Tom’s word.sh is missing its h
- Write the answer. No. Tom has missed the h.
Check. Read Tom’s word: s-i-p. It is not ship. ✓
Watch out. A digraph needs both letters. Do not leave one out.
Method. Write three words that start with sh. Check each one has sh at the start.
- Think of words that start with sh. Pick words you can picture.ship, shop, shed
- Check the first two letters. Each word starts with s and h together.sh at the start of each word
- Write your three words. ship, shop, shed (any three correct words)
Check. Read each word and check the first box is sh: sh | i | p, sh | o | p, sh | e | d. ✓
Watch out. Make sure each word has both letters: s and h together.