First graders have spent the last 5 weeks of spelling and phonics instruction becoming experts on digraphs! As you may remember from my blog post about the digraph CH in September, a digraph is when two consonants are put together to make a new sound. The digraphs first graders have studied are: TH, SH, CH, PH, and WH. This week’s digraph, WH, is a bit special because it does not make a new sound – it just says /w/. WH is used at the beginning of a word and there is no reliable rule about when to use WH compared to just W. However, almost every “question word” begins with WH. These include who, what, where, when, why and which. We practiced reading these words in the tone of a question.
After studying digraphs all this time, first graders have become digraph experts! They can identify a digraph in the beginning, middle or end of a word, notice them in text, decode words with digraphs, and spell words with digraphs! This week, to wrap up our practice of digraphs, we have been using “pinch cards” to identify digraphs in words. A pinch card is a classroom tool that helps students select and share an answer by pinching their fingers on their chosen answer on the card. When they hold it up in the air, Ms. Ursino can easily see which answer they’ve chosen. Students had great success identifying the correct digraph!
