Word Building and Sight Words with Digraphs ph, sh and ch for Pre-School Level 4

Class: Pre-School Level 4
Term: First Term
Week: 8
Age: 5 years
Duration: 30 minutes
Subject: Literacy
Curriculum Theme: Language Domain
Previous Lesson: Pupils identified and pronounced initial consonant blends.
Topic: DIGRAPHS PH, SH AND CH: WORD BUILDING AND SIGHT WORDS
Subject Matter: DIGRAPH: ph, sh, ch SIGHT WORDS: Photo She Chart. Weekly focus: Digraphs ph, sh and ch: Word Building and Sight Words.

Specific Objectives

By the end of the lesson, pupils should be able to:

Cognitive Domain

• Identify the digraphs ‘ph’, ‘sh’, and ‘ch’ when seen.
• Pronounce the sounds of ‘ph’ (/f/), ‘sh’ (/ʃ/), and ‘ch’ (/tʃ/) correctly.
• Recognise and read sight words like ‘Photo’, ‘She’, and ‘Chart’.
• Blend sounds to read simple words containing ‘ph’, ‘sh’, and ‘ch’.

Affective Domain

• Show enthusiasm while participating in word-building activities.
• Listen attentively to the teacher’s instructions and examples.

Psychomotor Domain

• Point to words containing the target digraphs on flashcards or charts.
• Form simple words using letter cards that include ‘ph’, ‘sh’, and ‘ch’.

Social Domain

• Take turns sharing their answers during group activities.
• Participate actively in class discussions and rhymes.

Reference Materials

• NAPPS National Unified Teaching Scheme for Pre-School Level 4
• Early Childhood Care and Education Phonics resources
• A suitable early-years literacy workbook
• Grammar Handbook

Instructional Materials

• Phonics charts displaying digraphs ‘ph’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’ and example words
• Flash cards with digraphs ‘ph’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’
• Flash cards with sight words: ‘Photo’, ‘She’, ‘Chart’
• Picture cards for words like ‘photo’, ‘shoe’, ‘chair’, ‘fish’, ‘phone’
• Individual letter cards for word building (e.g., p, h, s, h, c, h, o, t, e, a, r)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Pupil workbooks or writing sheets

Rationale for the Lesson

This lesson is important for 5-year-olds as it introduces them to digraphs, which are common letter combinations in English words. Understanding digraphs helps pupils decode and read new words more easily, building a strong foundation for early literacy and fluent reading.

Prerequisite/Previous Knowledge

Pupils can recognise most alphabet letters and their individual sounds. They can also blend simple three-letter (CVC) words and have been introduced to some basic sight words.

Lesson Content/Board Summary

DIGRAPHS PH, SH AND CH: WORD BUILDING AND SIGHT WORDS

A digraph is when two letters come together to make one new sound.

Digraph ‘ph’

The letters ‘p’ and ‘h’ come together to make the /f/ sound, like the letter ‘f’.

• Sound: /f/ (like in ‘fish’)
• Examples:
  • photo (picture)
  • graph (a drawing that shows information)
  • telephone (a device to talk to people far away)
• Sight Word: Photo

Digraph ‘sh’

The letters ‘s’ and ‘h’ come together to make the /ʃ/ sound, like when you tell someone to be quiet.

• Sound: /ʃ/ (like in ‘shoe’)
• Examples:
  • she (a girl or woman)
  • shy (feeling nervous around others)
  • shoe (what you wear on your feet)
  • dash (run quickly)
  • fish (an animal that lives in water)
  • shirt (a piece of clothing)
• Sight Word: She

Digraph ‘ch’

The letters ‘c’ and ‘h’ come together to make the /tʃ/ sound, like the beginning of ‘chair’.

• Sound: /tʃ/ (like in ‘chair’)
• Examples:
  • chop (cut into small pieces)
  • chin (part of your face below your mouth)
  • China (a country)
  • chart (a paper with information)
  • which (asking about a choice)
  • church (a place of worship)
• Sight Word: Chart

Key Words

• Digraph – Two letters that make one sound.
• ph – Makes the /f/ sound.
• sh – Makes the /ʃ/ sound.
• ch – Makes the /tʃ/ sound.
• Photo – A picture.
• She – A word for a girl or woman.
• Chart – A poster or paper with information.

What the Teacher Should Show or Draw

• Write the digraphs ‘ph’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’ clearly on the board.
• Draw simple pictures for example words (e.g., a phone for ‘ph’, a shoe for ‘sh’, a chair for ‘ch’).
• Display flashcards with the digraphs and sight words.

Digraphs Sound Rhyme

Tune: “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”

Lyrics:

P-H, P-H, says /f/, /f/, /f/,
Like a phone, it’s quite enough.
S-H, S-H, says /ʃ/, /ʃ/, /ʃ/,
Like a shoe, or a quiet hush.
C-H, C-H, says /tʃ/, /tʃ/, /tʃ/,
Like a chart, or a yummy lunch.
Digraphs help us read and learn,
Sounds we make at every turn!

Actions:

• For /f/ sound: Pretend to hold a phone to your ear.
• For /ʃ/ sound: Put a finger to your lips for “hush” or point to your shoe.
• For /tʃ/ sound: Pretend to chop something or point to a chart.
• For “read and learn”: Open hands like a book.

How to use the rhyme: Sing the rhyme slowly, emphasising the digraph sounds and performing the actions. Repeat several times, encouraging pupils to join in and make the sounds. This helps reinforce the sound-letter correlation for each digraph.

Watch and Learn About Digraphs

The teacher can show a short educational video to reinforce the sounds and words of the digraphs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK9nS39j0-Y

Teaching Methods/Instructional Techniques

Play-based Learning, Demonstration, Guided Practice, Songs and Rhymes, Picture Talk, Question and Answer, Repetition, Manipulation of Objects, Practical Activity.

Instructional Procedures

Step 1: Introduction

Time: 3 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engaging/Recalling

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher greets the pupils and asks them to recall some letters and their sounds. The teacher then introduces the idea of two letters making one special sound, explaining that today they will learn about ‘digraphs’.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond to greetings, recall letter sounds, and listen to the introduction of digraphs.

Learning Point: Pupils are prepared for the new topic and understand the concept of digraphs.

Step 2: Presentation of Digraph ‘ph’

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Explanation

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher writes ‘ph’ on the board, explains it’s a digraph, and demonstrates its /f/ sound. The teacher shows flashcards for ‘photo’ and ‘telephone’, pronouncing them clearly. Pupils are guided to repeat the sound and words. The sight word ‘Photo’ is introduced and displayed.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the digraph ‘ph’, listen to its sound, repeat the sound and example words, and identify the sight word ‘Photo’.

Learning Point: Pupils learn to identify and pronounce the ‘ph’ digraph and recognise the sight word ‘Photo’.

Step 3: Presentation of Digraph ‘sh’

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Guided Practice

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher writes ‘sh’ on the board, demonstrates its /ʃ/ sound (like a quiet sound), and shows flashcards for ‘she’, ‘shoe’, and ‘fish’. The teacher guides pupils to repeat the sound and words. The sight word ‘She’ is introduced and displayed.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the digraph ‘sh’, listen to its sound, repeat the sound and example words, and identify the sight word ‘She’.

Learning Point: Pupils learn to identify and pronounce the ‘sh’ digraph and recognise the sight word ‘She’.

Step 4: Presentation of Digraph ‘ch’

Time: 5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Demonstration/Reinforcement

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher writes ‘ch’ on the board, demonstrates its /tʃ/ sound (like in ‘chop’), and shows flashcards for ‘chop’, ‘chin’, and ‘chart’. The teacher guides pupils to repeat the sound and words. The sight word ‘Chart’ is introduced and displayed.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils observe the digraph ‘ch’, listen to its sound, repeat the sound and example words, and identify the sight word ‘Chart’.

Learning Point: Pupils learn to identify and pronounce the ‘ch’ digraph and recognise the sight word ‘Chart’.

Step 5: Guided Word Building and Blending

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Facilitation/Application

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher uses large letter cards (including digraph cards like ‘ph’, ‘sh’, ‘ch’) to form simple words like ‘fish’, ‘chop’, ‘shop’, ‘phone’. The teacher guides pupils to blend the sounds and read the words. Pupils are encouraged to try arranging the cards to form words.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils participate in blending sounds to read words, and some pupils come forward to arrange letter cards to form words with teacher’s guidance.

Learning Point: Pupils practice blending sounds with digraphs to build and read words.

Step 6: Rhyme and Sight Word Practice

Time: 4 minutes

Teaching Skill: Engagement/Repetition

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher leads the class in singing the “Digraphs Sound Rhyme” from the Lesson Content, encouraging actions and clear pronunciation. The teacher then quickly flashes the sight words ‘Photo’, ‘She’, ‘Chart’ and asks pupils to read them aloud.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils sing the rhyme with actions and enthusiastically read the sight words as they are flashed.

Learning Point: Pupils reinforce digraph sounds and memorise sight words through song and repetition.

Step 7: Evaluation/Review

Time: 4–5 minutes

Teaching Skill: Questioning/Assessment

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher checks pupils’ understanding through short questions and practical tasks.

1. “What sound does ‘ph’ make?”
2. “Show me the flashcard for ‘sh’.”
3. “Read this word: CHOP.” (Teacher points to the word on the board or a flashcard)
4. “Which sight word says ‘Photo’?”

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils respond orally and demonstrate the required skill where appropriate.

Learning Point: Pupils demonstrate understanding of the lesson.

Step 8: Conclusion

Time: 1 minute

Teaching Skill: Summarising/Assigning

Teacher’s Activity: The teacher praises the pupils for their participation and summarises that they learned about digraphs ‘ph’, ‘sh’, and ‘ch’ and some new sight words. The teacher assigns a simple activity from their workbook, like circling words with the target digraphs.

Pupils’ Activity: Pupils listen to the summary and receive their homework instructions.

Learning Point: Pupils consolidate their learning and prepare for independent practice.

Lesson Keywords

• Digraph – Two letters that join to make one sound.
• Phonics – Learning to read by sounding out letters and letter groups.
• Sight words – Words we learn to read quickly without sounding them out.
• ph – The digraph that makes the /f/ sound.
• sh – The digraph that makes the /ʃ/ sound.
• ch – The digraph that makes the /tʃ/ sound.

Differentiation

• Support: For pupils who struggle, provide larger digraph flashcards and more one-on-one repetition of sounds and words. Use hand-over-hand guidance for forming words with letter cards. Focus on identifying and pronouncing just one digraph at a time before moving to the next.
• Extension: For pupils who grasp the concept quickly, challenge them to identify other words with ‘ph’, ‘sh’, or ‘ch’ from their environment or storybooks. Encourage them to write simple words containing these digraphs in their notebooks.

Note for teachers using this lesson plan

Ensure all instructional materials, especially digraph and sight word flashcards, are prepared and easily accessible before the lesson begins. When introducing each digraph, clearly articulate its unique sound and provide multiple examples, both orally and visually. Emphasise that digraphs are two letters making *one* sound, which can be a new concept for some children. Repeat the sounds and words frequently throughout the lesson. Observe pupils’ pronunciation closely and correct gently. Encourage active participation from all pupils, especially during the rhyme and word-building activities. Assess understanding by observing if pupils can correctly identify the digraphs, make their sounds, and read the target sight words and simple example words. Their ability to point to the correct digraph or word when prompted is a good indicator of understanding at this level.