1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 4 of 17
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.
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 1.2(B) · 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 Texas
In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 4 of 17 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 Texas parents
- Printable 1st grade English Language Arts sheet
- Texas report cards explained
Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)
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?
🍫__ocolate- ch
- sh
- th
ch
Hint: Say “chocolate” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 2
Which two letters start this word?
🦈__ark- th
- ch
- sh
sh
Hint: Say “shark” slowly. Listen to the start!
Question 3
Which word starts with “sh”?
- 🧵thread
- 🪑chair
- 🩳shorts
🩳 shorts
Hint: Say each word slowly. “shorts” starts with sh.
Question 4
Which word ends with “ch”?
- 👄mouth
- 🛁bath
- 🥪sandwich
🥪 sandwich
Hint: Listen to the very end of each word. “sandwich” ends with ch.
Question 5
Which word starts with “th”?
- 🍒cherries
- 🧵thread
- 🐑sheep
🧵 thread
Hint: Say each word slowly. “thread” starts with th.
Question 6
Which word starts with “sh”?
- 🐚shell
- 🧀cheese
- 🪑chair
🐚 shell
Hint: Say each word slowly. “shell” starts with sh.