Digraph Anagrams: Unscramble sh, ch and th Words
Eight words with sh, ch or th, from ship and chin to bath and moth, scrambled for the student to put back in order.
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Say the word first, then have the student say it and name the sound they hear at the start or end: sh in ship, th in bath. Ask which two letters make that sound, and find them first before placing the rest. For a student who is stuck, place the digraph for them and let them finish. Read the word aloud once it is built.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentShow the card and wait 3 seconds for the student to read it.Log as correct
- Point to itPoint to the letter pattern that matters, or tap under each sound.Log as cued
- Sound it outSay the first sound together, then let the student blend the rest.Log as cued
- ModelRead it, tapping each sound; the student reads it after you.Log as cued
Adjust it
Use fewer cards and start with the patterns the student already reads, such as 'ship' and 'shop'.
Read the words in a sentence, or spell them from dictation.
Matching IEP goal
Given decodable word cards, such as 'ship' and 'shop', Student will read the target pattern accurately in 8 of 10 words across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
Eight short words built on the digraphs sh, ch and th: ship, shop, fish, chin, chip, bath, thumb and moth. The letters of each word arrive scrambled and the student puts them back in order. Because the two letters of a digraph are split up in the scramble, the student has to know that s and h belong together to make one sound, which is the exact idea being learned.
What to listen for
Watch whether the student places the two letters of the digraph together straight away or places them as two separate sounds. Notice mix-ups between chip and ship, which differ only in the digraph, and whether thumb, with its silent b, causes trouble. A student who gets fish but not shop may hear the digraph at the end of a word more easily than at the start.
Carrying it home
Write a word from the board on a card, cut the letters apart, and let the child put them back together. Then change one digraph and read the new word: ship to chip, or shop to chop. Hunt around the house for things with sh, ch or th in their name. Keep it to three or four words a session.
What's in this activity
- ship
- shop
- fish
- chin
- chip
- bath
- thumb
- moth
Questions
- Who is this for?
- First and second grade students learning the consonant digraphs sh, ch and th, and older students in a structured literacy program who have not yet mastered them.
- Is it free?
- Yes. It plays free in the browser with no login. An account adds session data, goal scoring and assignment to a student.
- Why is thumb included when it has a silent letter?
- It is a common th word a child will meet early, and it gives you a natural moment to point out that not every letter makes a sound.