Diving for Digraphs
Chocolate chips, shells, three, whales....these are just a few words that children may use. When they begin identifying beginning sounds, most students can name the sounds sh, ch, th, and wh. In order to use digraphs in reading and writing, however, they need to know the spellings for the common consonant digraphs.
To help students focus on the spelling for each digraph, introduce them on separate days or even separate weeks. Have the students help generate a list of words beginning with your chosen digraph. Write each word on chart paper or a board so the students can see the spelling of the digraph again and again.
After working with the digraphs individually, review and reinforce spellings with a game. Diving for Digraphs, a game from our ocean unit, provides an opportunity to connect digraph sounds and spellings. Each player draws a card, identifies the picture’s digraph, then looks for that digraph spelling on his/her game mat. After playing the game once or twice, students are more secure in recognizing and using digraphs in both reading and writing.
Be sure to check out this and our other great products this weekend as we throw a "Set the Clock" sale!
