1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 4 of 13
Sh, Ch, Th
Two letters, one sound
What your child practices
Letter pairs that make one sound (sh, ch, th) at the start and end of words like ship, cheese and tooth.
Arizona Academic Standards learning standard: 1.RF.3 · reading words with the digraphs sh, ch and th
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Some letter pairs make one new sound.
- sh says /sh/ as in ship. ch says /ch/ as in chin.
- th says /th/ as in thumb.
Example: Which two letters start “shell”? Say “shell”. It starts with /sh/. /sh/ is spelled s-h. Answer: sh
Sh, Ch, Th in Arizona
In the Arizona Academic Standards, this is unit 4 of 13 in 1st grade English Language Arts, after Word Families and before Sight Words.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
- 1st grade guide for Arizona parents
- Printable 1st grade English Language Arts sheet
- Arizona report cards explained
Source: Arizona Department of Education
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Which word ends with “ch”?
- 👄mouth
- 🍑peach
- 🖌️paintbrush
🍑 peach
Hint: Listen to the very end of each word. “peach” ends with ch.
Question 2
Which two letters start this word?
🧵__read- sh
- th
- ch
th
Hint: Say “thread” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 3
Which two letters start this word?
🦈__ark- th
- sh
- ch
sh
Hint: Say “shark” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 4
Which two letters start this word?
👍__umb- ch
- sh
- th
th
Hint: Say “thumb” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 5
Which word starts with “ch”?
- 🐤chick
- 🚢ship
- 3️⃣three
🐤 chick
Hint: Say each word slowly. “chick” starts with ch.
Question 6
Which word ends with “th”?
- 🦷tooth
- 🖌️paintbrush
- 🥪sandwich
🦷 tooth
Hint: Listen to the very end of each word. “tooth” ends with th.