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Digraph sort race: sh, ch and th for 1st grade phonics
What it is: a 1st grade phonics game where teams race to read word cards and sort them under sh, ch or th. Students learn that two letters can work together to make one sound.
Time: about 20 minutes. Grade: 1st grade.
Materials: word cards (ship, fish, shop, chin, lunch, chip, thin, bath, moth, wish, much, that), three header cards (sh, ch, th), and a timer.
- Say "ship" and ask: "How many sounds do you hear?" Show that s and h together make one sound, /sh/.
- Do the same with ch and th, with a mouth position for each: quiet finger for sh, sneeze for ch, tongue out a little for th.
- Teams get a shuffled pile. One student reads a card aloud, and the team agrees where it goes.
- Start the timer. Teams sort all cards, reading each one aloud.
- Check together. Ask: "Where was the digraph: at the start or the end of the word?"
Differentiation: students who need support sort only sh and ch. Students who are ready add wh and ck. English learners can practice each mouth position with a mirror.
Quick check: say three words and ask a student which digraph each one has.
Save this activity to your library so it is ready when you need it.
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About this resource
- Shared by
- @UpOnlyLearning · Curriculum team
- Posted
- Oct 30, 2026
- Type
- Lesson plan
- Grade
- Grades K–2
- Subject
- Reading
- Language
- English
- License
- Free for classroom, co-op and tutoring use. Please don't resell.