Digraphs, Blends, and Silent Letters Chapter Notes | Language Arts for Grade 2 PDF Download

Introduction

A digraph consists of two letters that combine to produce a single sound. The most frequent consonant digraphs are ch-, sh-, th-, ph-, and wh-. The term "digraph" comes from Greek, where "di" means two and "graph" refers to something written. Thus, a digraph is a pair of letters written together to represent one sound.

How to Teach Digraphs

Children are usually ready to learn digraphs after mastering three- and four-letter words, as they already use digraphs in speech. Teaching involves explaining how two consonants unite to form a new sound.

Homeschool Reading and Spelling Curriculum

The Story of Consonant Digraphs and Blends

• Rick and Bonnie live next door and say their individual sounds, /b/ and /r/, as in "broom" or "brown." This /br/ is a blend, where both sounds are heard. Common blends include tr (trip), st (stop), and dr (dress).  
• In contrast, when Cathy and Harry say their sounds, /k/ and /h/, together, they create a new sound, /ch/, as in "chat" or "chip." This ch is a digraph, where two letters form one phoneme.

After the Story of Consonant Digraphs and Blends

• After the story, brainstorm names that form digraphs:  
  • Sam and Helen: /sh/  
  • Tom and Harry: /th/  
  • Patty and Hudson: /ph/  
  • William and Hazel: /wh/  
• Then, list words starting or ending with these digraphs.

Consonant Digraph Examples Word List

CH Digraph Example Word List

• ch- (/ch/): chat, chest, chip, chop, chum  
• ch (/ch/): arch, each, rich, much, such  
• ch (/sh/, French origin):​ chef, charade, brochure  
• ch (/k/, Greek origin): chasm, echo, mocha, orchid, character  

PH Digraph Example Word List

• ph- (/f/): phone, phase, photo, phrase, phooey  
• ​-ph (/f/): nephew, graphic, orphan, hyphen, triumph  
• ph (/f/): graph, glyph, morph, oomph  

SH Digraph Example Word List  

• sh- (/sh/): shape, ship, shark, shook, short  
• -sh (/sh/): cashew, freshen, washable, mushroom, sunshine  
• sh (/sh/): cash, wish, fresh, slosh, gush  

TH Digraph Example Word List

•  th- ("Noisy TH," voiced): that, these, this, the, them  
• -th ("Noisy TH," voiced): gather, other, mother, weather, further  
• th ("Quiet TH," unvoiced): theme, thin, third, thick, thump  
• -th ("Quiet TH," unvoiced): bath, teeth, with, cloth, south  

WH Digraph Example Word List

•  wh- (/wh/): what, when, where, whale, white  

GH /f/ Digraph Example Word List

• -gh (/f/, German origin): laugh, cough, enough, tough, rough  

Words with Consonant Digraphs in the Middle

• ch: anchor, apache, crochet  
• ph: elephant, orphan, cipher, hyphen, aphid  
• sh: bishop, cashier, worship  
• th: ethnic, gather, mother  

Silent Letter Digraphs

• kn-:​know, knife, knot, knew, knock  
• wr-: write, wrist, wrap, wrote, wrinkle  
• gn-: gnarly, gnat, gnash, gnaw, gnome  
• gh-: ghost, ghee, ghoul, ghastly  

Silent Letter Digraphs at the End

• -ck: back, deck, kick, sock, luck  
• -gn: align, assign, benign, design, sign  
• -mb: numb, comb, limb, climb, crumb  

Note: In words with -ign, the g may not be silent if the syllable splits after the g, as in ignore, signal, ignite, dignify, signify, signature.

-ng Digraph and -nk Blend Word Examples

-ng is a digraph, and -nk is a blend, but both include the /ŋ/ sound:

• -ng: rang, wing, thing, long, sung  
• -nk: thank, crank, drink, sink, skunk  

Vowel Digraphs (Vowel Teams)

Common Words with Vowel Digraphs

• ai: aid, paid, rain  
• ay: bay, day, say  
• au: aunt, auto, haul  
• ee: bee, green, three  
• ea: bean, eat, leaf  
• ey: key, money, they  
• ie: pie, tie, movie  
• oo: foot, book, moon  
• oe: toe, doe, shoe  
• oy: boy, joy, toy  
• oi: coin, join, moist  
• ue: blue, glue, true  

Consonant-Controlled Digraphs (R, W, and L-Controlled Digraphs)

These are vowel digraphs where a vowel pairs with a consonant to form one sound.  

R-Controlled Digraphs (Vowel + R Pattern)

• ar: car, far, jar  
• er: her, every, verb  
• ir: bird, first, girl  
• or: for, short, work  
• ur: purse, purple, turn  

W-Controlled Digraphs (Vowel + W Pattern)

• aw: lawn, saw, straw  
• ew: flew, new, stew  
• ow: brown, now, how; arrow, snow, throw  

L-Controlled Digraphs (Vowel + L Pattern)

• al: also, ball, hall; aloe, scalp, valley  
• el: cell, felt, yell  
• il: bill, fill, will  
• ol: doll, golly, solve; fold, gold, roll