CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3a

ELA1st GradePhonics and Word Recognition

The Standard

Know the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts

Teacher's field guide

What Students Need to Do: Students connect common letter pairs, such as sh, ch, th, and wh, to the sounds they represent. They use those sounds to read one-syllable words.
What Mastery Looks Like: Students identify the target letter pair in words such as ship, chin, thin, and whip. They read these words smoothly and spell similar words from dictation.
Common Misconceptions: Students may read each letter separately, saying two sounds instead of one. They often confuse sh with ch or miss the two sounds represented by th. Some treat the h as silent.
How to Assess It: Give students an exit slip with ship, chop, thin, and when. Have them circle the letter pair and read each word aloud.

Lesson moves

Give students letter tiles to build shop, chin, thin, and whip, then swap the first or last letters to make new words.
Ask students to explain how the beginning sounds in ship and sip differ, then write one sentence using each word.
Play digraph bingo using picture cards for words beginning or ending with sh, ch, th, and wh.
Have students find digraphs on classroom labels, book covers, signs, or food packages and record the words they discover.

Free download

A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3a, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.

PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.

Learning progression

If students are struggling here, check these first.

Mastery here sets students up for these next.

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