English Language Arts · 1st Grade

Active learning ideas

Digraphs and Blends: Two Letters, One Sound

Active learning works for digraphs and blends because students need to hear, compare, and categorize sounds to build lasting phonemic awareness. Movement, discussion, and hands-on sorting turn abstract letter rules into concrete discoveries they can explain in their own words.

• Common Core State Standards
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RF.1.3.A

• 10–20 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Numbered Heads Together
• 15 min · Pairs

Sorting Game: Digraph or Blend?

Give pairs a set of picture cards featuring words with digraphs (sh, ch, th) and consonant blends (bl, st, tr). Students sort the cards into two labeled piles and justify each placement aloud to their partner. Pairs then share one word from each pile with a neighboring pair and explain their reasoning.

Explain how two letters can make a single sound in words like 'ship' or 'chair'.

Facilitation Tip

During the Sorting Game, place a timer to add urgency and encourage quick decision-making while listening closely to each sound.

What to look for

Give students a card with a word. Ask them to circle the digraph or blend and then write one word that rhymes with it. For example, for 'ship', they might circle 'sh' and write 'dip'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

Activity 02

• Gallery Walk
• 20 min · Small Groups

Gallery Walk: Word Wall Sort

Post chart paper around the room, each sheet labeled with one digraph or blend (sh, ch, th, bl, st, tr). Give student groups a stack of word cards. Groups circulate, tape each word under the correct header, and leave a sticky note with a question if they are unsure. After the gallery walk, the class reviews disputed placements together.

Differentiate between a digraph and a consonant blend.

Facilitation Tip

Place word cards at varying heights around the room for the Gallery Walk so students must move and stretch, keeping energy high.

What to look for

Display a list of words on the board, some with digraphs and some with blends. Call on students to come up and point to a word, then say the sound the digraph or blend makes. Ask them to explain if it's a digraph or a blend.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 10 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Change a Sound

Display a simple CVC word (e.g., "cap"). Students work with a partner to predict what happens when a digraph or blend replaces the first letter. Pairs discuss their prediction, then share out: if /k/ becomes /sh/, what word do we get? Rotate through several base words, including some that produce nonsense words so students must evaluate their results.

Predict how adding a blend or digraph changes the sound of a word.

Facilitation Tip

In Think-Pair-Share, assign roles clearly: one student listens for the sound, one explains, and one records the change to ensure full participation.

What to look for

Ask students: 'How is the sound in 'thin' different from the sound in 'thin'? What about 'stop' versus 'sop'? Discuss what makes the digraphs and blends change the sounds.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

Activity 04

• Numbered Heads Together
• 10 min · Whole Class

Whole Class: Blend and Digraph Relay

Students stand in a line. The teacher says a base word, and the first student adds a digraph to the front to form a new word. The next student tries a different digraph or blend. The class votes on whether each transformation produces a real word or a nonsense word, discussing what sound changed and why.

Explain how two letters can make a single sound in words like 'ship' or 'chair'.

Facilitation Tip

Use a whistle or bell during the Blend and Digraph Relay to signal transitions and keep the pace lively for the whole class.

What to look for

Give students a card with a word. Ask them to circle the digraph or blend and then write one word that rhymes with it. For example, for 'ship', they might circle 'sh' and write 'dip'.

• Remember
• Understand
• Apply
• Relationship Skills
• Self-Management

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teach digraphs and blends by having students first hear and feel the sounds through oral practice, then apply that awareness to print. Avoid explaining the rules too soon; let students discover the patterns through structured exploration. Research shows that when students articulate their own understanding, misconceptions surface naturally and are easier to address.

Successful learning looks like students confidently distinguishing digraphs from blends and justifying their choices with clear sound evidence. They should also begin to notice how these patterns change word meaning and structure during reading and writing.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Sorting Game: Digraph or Blend?, watch for students who group 'sh' and 'bl' together because both have two letters.

  Have students say each word aloud while tapping out the sounds. If they can hear both individual sounds in 'blend' but only one new sound in 'ship,' they’ll see the difference and regroup accordingly.

• During Gallery Walk: Word Wall Sort, watch for students who assume 'th' always makes the same sound in every word.

  Prompt them to sort 'th' words into two groups: those with a buzzing throat (voiced /ð/) and those without (unvoiced /θ/). The visual sorting on the wall helps them notice the difference.

• During Think-Pair-Share: Change a Sound, watch for students who think adding 'fl' to 'at' makes 'flat' by inserting sounds rather than replacing them.

  Use sound boxes to show how 'cat' changes to 'flat' by swapping the initial sound, not adding one. Ask students to fill in the boxes together to see exactly which sounds remain and which shift.

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Methods used in this brief

• Numbered Heads Together
• Gallery Walk
• Think-Pair-Share