Chapter 6: Digraphs

THE
READING
ROAD
Chapter 6:
Digraphs
Contents
Introduction to Digraphs .............................................2
The Digraph ph ...........................................................3
The Digraph th ............................................................4
The Digraph sh ............................................................5
The Digraph ch ...........................................................6
The Trigraph tch ........................................................11
On the Phone ............................................................12
More about th ...........................................................26
The Death Squad ......................................................28
The Detective Game .................................................44
The Tower Game .......................................................45
1
Introduction to Digraphs
The combined consonants sh, ch, ph and th are called digraphs.
The di in digraph means two, and graph means letter. Letters are
symbols that make sounds. So, a digraph is a two-letter symbol
that makes one sound.
In this section, we’re going to learn about the sounds digraphs
make. The words colored in green have digraphs in them. When
you see a green word, make sure you think about which sound the
digraph makes.
2
The Digraph ph
The digraph ph makes the same sound as the letter f.
Try reading these ph words:
photo
phone
graph
Philadelphia
Here are some more ph words:
phase
pharmacy
physical
3
alphabet
The Digraph th
The digraph th is very common in little words:
the them these those then that
Can you feel how your tongue moves in your mouth when you
make the th sound?
Now try reading some bigger th words:
other
mother
either
together
4
The Digraph sh
The digraph sh makes the sound shhh
like when someone is telling you to be quiet.
Practice reading these words with the sh sound:
fish
mash
rush
wish
shut
shell
shame
shave
shine
5
shirt
The Digraph ch
The digraph ch makes a different sound. It’s the first sound in
cheese.
Practice reading these words with the ch sound:
chick
cherry
couch
cheetah
chair
Now try these:
such rich chop much chin chat
6
Compare sounds of sh and ch.
Think about the sounds in these words:
ship .................................. chip
shop .................................chop
shin ...................................chin
sheer ................................cheer
7
Chuck and Phil went into the fish and chips shop to get
something to eat. Chuck got a fish sandwich.
“How much is that?” asked Phil.
“Three fifty,” said Chuck.
“Too much,” said Phil. I’m short on cash.”
Chuck munched on his sandwich. “I wish I could share
it with you, but I’m not into sharing my lunch.”
Phil shoved his chair back. “It’s a shame to have a
cheapskate for a friend.”
Chuck said, “Chill out. Here’s some change. Get
yourself a hot dog.”
8
More About ch
You know what sound the digraph ch is supposed to make. It’s the
sound at the beginning of cheese.
But in some words don’t follow the rules.
These words are in detention because the ch sounds like k:
school
scheme
schedule
chemistry
technology
9
ache
anchor
chorus
More About ch
Here are some more words with ch:
chronological
Christmas
chrome
chronic
Chris
Do you think these words should go in the detention room?
Why or why not?
10
The Trigraph tch
After a short vowel, the ch sound usually gets an extra letter: t.
The tch letter combination is not really a digraph. It’s a trigraph!
The di in digraph means two, and the tri in trigraph means three.
Here are some tch words to practice reading:
itch
catch
match
11
Introduction to On the Phone
In this story, a girl tells her friend about the trouble she got
into that day. If you’ve ever gotten in trouble, you may find it
interesting.
The story is full of words with sh, th, ch, and ph—the digraphs you
have been learning about.
Challenge Words
Moesha
Shanetta
Sheila
geography
business
thought
laugh
trouble
plain
shower
12
13
What’s up, Moesha? You’re doing fine?
Well I’m not. I have been having the biggest fight
with my mother. You know, I always take a
shower in the morning. She wants me to take a
bath tonight. In the bath tub. Can you believe it?
14
You would think that I am eight years old. I
said, “I am not going to take a bath. I take a
shower.” ...Your mother is like that too? Uh-huh.
15
...You want to know what was going on
at recess today? Shanetta came up to
me and said, “Sheila, you cheated on the
geography test.” Can you believe that?
Well, you know I just can’t do geography.
16
I didn’t choose to be in that class. And you can’t
just shove all those names into somebody’s head.
So when Shanetta put China in South America,
I did too.
17
I mean, if her answer sheet was showing, that has
nothing to do with me. And what she wrote was
wrong, too. That’s why Mr. Fish got so mad. He
thought that she had got it from me. It wasn’t my
idea to put China in South America.
18
Anyhow, I told her, “Shut your mouth, girl!
You had no business putting the wrong thing
on your answer sheet, so I had to see it!” And I
don’t know why she got all mad because what I
had said was just plain common sense. And she
went to push me.
19
Why did she have to do that? So I just shoved
her. And she shoved me back. And we both fell.
20
It has been raining all week. You know
how much mud there is on the ground, on
the path, all over. There was mud on my
shorts, on my shoes, on my shirt.
21
Shanetta had mud all over her, too. So she
started throwing mud at me, and I start throwing
mud at her. We both of us had a mud bath!
22
I said to her, “Shanetta, if we keep throwing mud,
maybe we will put China into South America.”
So she laughed, too.
23
When I got home, my mother started shouting,
“What happened to your new shirt? And your
shorts? Where did all the mud come from?”
I just said, “I fell.” That’s when she said,
“Sheila, you have to take a bath. Right now.”
24
My mother doesn’t realize that I am not a child
anymore! I have been having the biggest fight
with her. No matter what I say, she just says,
“Hush!” I don’t know why she gets so mad at
me. It’s not like I’m always getting into trouble.
THE END
25
More About th
You learned about words that start with a th sound, like these:
thick thought think thank thigh
Now let’s try some harder ones. Sometimes, when the letter r
comes after th, it can be hard to hear the sounds. Try reading
these words:
three throw through thrill throne
Now try reading these words with th at the end:
moth
tooth
bath
Does th at the end of a word sound the same as it does at the
beginning? Or does it sound different?
26
More About th
Some people say th at the end of a word the same way they say f.
The sounds of th and f are similar, but you can tell them apart
if you think about how you move your mouth when you say the
sounds. To make the sound of f, touch your top teeth to your
bottom lip and breathe out through your mouth. To make the th
sound, stick your tongue between your teeth—but don’t bite it!
Think about these words again and think about how you say the
sound at the end.
moth
tooth
bath
Try saying each word both ways. First say the word with an f
sound at end. Then try saying it with a th sound.
Now think about these words:
roof Ruth
reef wreath
death deaf
Do you know what all these words mean?
Sometimes it’s hard to hear the difference between th and f at the
end of a word, so words like death and deaf might sound exactly
the same.
27
Introduction to The Death Squad
When you read this story, you might learn some things you don’t
know much about yet. It will give you a lot of practice with words
that end in th.
Keep an eye out for death and deaf!
Challenge Words
A lot of these words have to do with football:
interception
linebacker
quarterback
season
shoulder
skinny
squad
known
28
29
They called them the Death Squad — the Death Squad
from Johnson High. They were big, and they were
mean. When you saw them coming down the field, all
you wanted was to get out of the way. We used to ask,
“How come those guys are so big and still in school?”
30
We played them only once this year. We got three points
on a field goal in the first quarter. The rest of the time, we
got out of the way. They won all their games with very big
scores. On the last week of the seaon, we heard that the
Death Squad was playing some team called South Point.
31
Who was South Point? We never heard of them.
We went over to Johnson High just to see these
kids get beat. When they came out we had to
laugh. They were all little guys, skinny guys.
Their shoulder pads were too big for them.
32
And the Death Squad was like, “Hey, we’re gonna kill you
kids!” They must have been really scared, because not one
of them opened his mouth. They didn’t say a word.
33
And the Death Squad was like, “Blah, blah,
blah. We’re gonna run right over you!”
We were like, “This is going to be good.
This is going to be a real slaughter.”
34
No doubt about it, the Death Squad did run
over them. They scored four times in the first
half. But those little guys ran right back!
They had a great passing game. Both of their
ends were everywhere.
35
They caught everything. They seemed to go
just where the ball was going. At half time,
the Death Squad was only six points ahead.
36
I met my sister Ruth. I said, “Who are these guys?
I’ve never heard of them.” She said, “Michael, don’t
you know anything? South Point is the Deaf school.”
37
Then Ruth told me the story because she goes with
one of the linebackers from South Point. On the big
play, the ends go way down the field and sign to the
quarterback. Each one signs which way he is going
to cut just before the quarterback throws the ball.
38
It could be the sign for “right” or it could be the sign
for “left.” When they are going out long, they send
the sign for “long.” When they cut inside, they send
the sign for “short.”
39
Of course the kids from Johnson had no
idea what was happening. So that’s what
was going down. To tell the truth, those
deaf kids were good with their hands.
40
They made two interceptions in the second half.
They came really close to winning the game,
37 to 39. No team ever came that close before.
41
I thought, “That’s alright! The Deaf Squad
meets the Death Squad. I’ve got to learn
some more of those signs.”
42
American Sign Language
American Sign Langauge, also called ASL, is the language
used by Deaf people in North America. Rather than talking,
signers use their hands, arms, and faces to communicate. ASL has
an interesting history.
A long time ago, before there were any planes or cars, most
Deaf Americans lived in small towns where there weren’t any
other Deaf people around. They communicated with the hearing
people they knew using signs that they invented themselves.
In 1817 the first American school for the Deaf was founded
in Hartford, Connecticut. For the first time, Deaf people could
travel to Hartford to go to school with other Deaf people.
One of the school’s founders was a
Frenchman named Laurent Clerc. Clerc
had gone to a Deaf school in France, so he
knew French Sign Language. The students
at the school brought signs they used at
home, and also learned many French signs
from their teachers. Over time, the mix
of home signs and French Sign Language
became American Sign Language.
Now about half a million people
use ASL. It is the third-most widely used
language in the United States.
43
Did you know
that Deaf people
invented the
football huddle?
The Detective Game
Now you are almost finished with this chapter, and it’s time to play
the Detective Game!
Detective Mack Jackson is very busy, so he needs more people on
his team to help get the facts straight. Use your memory and your
detective skills to help him get some answers!
Find the Death Squad Detective Game
worksheet. You might want to spend a
couple minutes reviewing the story with
your tutor before moving on, and you
might need to look at it again after you
start the questions. That’s okay! The
better you know the story, the better your
answers will be.
Before you start, read the directions and
make sure you know the meaning of all of
the words in the Detective Game Dictionary.
44
The Tower Game
Let’s play the Tower Game! You get two
dominoes to start. Every time you read
a word right, you get another domino
from your tutor. See how tall you can
make your tower and don’t let your
tutor win!
45
1. shy
2. chase
3. death
4. check
5. thaw
6. shove
7. match
8. chew
9. shine
10. change
11. photograph
12. shame
13. choke
14. those
15. chill
16. math
17. thigh
18. rush
19. shell
20. wish
The Tower Game 2
Let’s play the Tower Game! You get two
dominoes to start. Every time you read
a word right, you get another domino
from your tutor. See how tall you can
make your tower and don’t let your
tutor win!
46
1. shy
2. chime
3. death
4. chose
5. thaw
6. shove
7. ship
8. chew
9. shape
10. chuckle
11. alphabet
12. witch
13. rash
14. those
15. itchy
16. bath
17. thick
18. hush
19. shack
20. dish