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.
Maine Learning Results learning standard: Reading 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 Maine
In the Maine Learning Results, 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 Maine parents
- Printable 1st grade English Language Arts sheet
- Maine report cards explained
Source: Maine 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 two letters start this word?
🩳__orts- sh
- th
- ch
sh
Hint: Say “shorts” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 2
Which word starts with “sh”?
- 🪑chair
- 🚢ship
- 🐤chick
🚢 ship
Hint: Say each word slowly. “ship” starts with sh.
Question 3
Which two letters start this word?
🐤__ick- th
- ch
- sh
ch
Hint: Say “chick” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 4
Which word starts with “ch”?
- 🍫chocolate
- 🦈shark
- 🐑sheep
🍫 chocolate
Hint: Say each word slowly. “chocolate” starts with ch.
Question 5
Which two letters start this word?
🦈__ark- sh
- ch
- th
sh
Hint: Say “shark” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 6
Which word ends with “sh”?
- 👄mouth
- 🖌️paintbrush
- 🥪sandwich
🖌️ paintbrush
Hint: Listen to the very end of each word. “paintbrush” ends with sh.