Daily Lesson Plan -- Lesson 18

Digraphs

Subject: English | Class: Prep | Series: Skillford

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Overview

In this lesson children learn that a digraph is two letters that spell one sound. They read rows of words with the digraphs "ch", "ph", "sh", "th" and "wh" and listen to the one sound each pair makes. Then they say each picture and write the missing digraph.

Learning Objectives

• Know that a digraph is two letters that spell one sound
• Read words with "ch": chin, child, rich, lunch
• Read words with "ph": photo, phone, trophy, dolphin
• Read words with "sh": sheep, shoe, cash, fish
• Read words with "th": think, thin, cloth, bath
• Read words with "wh": wheat, wheel, whale, white
• Write the missing digraph in a word

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Day 1: Digraphs (40 minutes)

Materials

• Textbook page 33, five cards: "ch", "ph", "sh", "th", "wh", pencils

Warm-Up (5 minutes)

• Say "sh" in a quiet voice. Ask: "How many sounds do you hear?" (one). Show that "s" and "h" together make one sound.

Main Activity (25 minutes)

• Read the rule: "A digraph is two letters that spell one sound. Some digraphs are made of vowels and some of consonants."
• Read the instruction: "Read each row aloud and listen to the one sound the pair makes."
• Read each row. The digraph is shown in red. Children repeat each word:
  • ch: chin, child, rich, lunch
  • ph: photo, phone, trophy, dolphin
  • sh: sheep, shoe, cash, fish
  • th: think, thin, cloth, bath
  • wh: wheat, wheel, whale, white
• Notice that a digraph can come at the start of a word (chin) or at the end (rich).
• Read the Activity instruction: "Say each picture, then write the missing digraph."
• Look at each picture, say the word, and write the missing digraph:
  1. chair: (ch)air
  2. fish: fi(sh)
  3. phone: (ph)one
  4. bush: bu(sh)

Wrap-Up (10 minutes)

• Follow the Teacher's Note: show how two letters team up to make one sound. Ask children to listen clearly to find out where the digraph is hiding in each word.
• Hold up a digraph card. Children say a word that has it.

Differentiation

• Support: Practise only "ch", "sh" and "th" with the pictures
• Extension: Children find the digraph in a word the teacher says, and say which sound it makes

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Teaching Tips

• A digraph is two letters, but only one sound
• Use a finger on each letter, then slide the two fingers together to show one sound
• Ask children to listen for where the digraph is hiding in the word