Multiple online platforms offer free educational materials focused on phonics digraphs for early learners. These resources, created by educators and publishers, include printable activities, worksheets, and instructional tools designed for kindergarten and first-grade students. The materials aim to help children recognize and produce the sounds made by letter combinations such as "sh," "ch," "th," "wh," and "ck."
Available Free Digraph Activities
Educators and parents can access a variety of free materials to support phonics instruction. The resources range from sound identification cards to interactive dough mats and easy reader books.
Digraph Charts and Instructional Tools
Several sources provide visual reference charts to introduce digraphs. One source offers a "Digraph Detectives" chart in both color and black-and-white versions. This chart is intended for classroom warm-ups, where students chant the sounds associated with words like "cherry" or "chips" (Source 1). Another source provides a "Blends and Digraphs Chart" available in white and chalkboard backgrounds, suitable for guided reading groups or student writing folders (Source 4).
For hands-on learning, "Digraph Dough Mats" are available to engage students physically and promote fine motor skills (Source 2). Additionally, "Mouth articulation" posters are provided to demonstrate the correct formation of sounds, with options to print as standard cards or flashcards (Source 2).
Worksheets and Printable Packets
Printable worksheets cover various skills including beginning sounds, word identification, and sorting activities. A freebie containing work for blends and digraphs includes cut-and-paste sorts (Source 3). Specific packets target the "WH" digraph with activities for labeling, cutting and pasting, coloring, and tracing words (Source 4).
Other printables focus on the "SH, TH, CH" digraphs, offering activities for reading, writing, decoding, and sorting (Source 6). These materials are designed for no-prep use in centers, small groups, or homework.
Phonics Booklets and Easy Readers
For reading practice, "Digraph Easy Reader Books" are available for kindergarten and first-grade students. These books feature simple sentences and coloring activities for beginning and ending digraphs. They are accessible via a subscriber library (Source 5).
Another set includes 10 booklets covering digraphs and beginning blends. These booklets guide students through decoding, mapping, encoding, and drawing words, and can be used in small groups or as an at-home component (Source 2).
Interactive and Skill-Based Tools
To reinforce phonemic awareness, "Digraphs Sound Identification Cards" help students identify if a sound occurs at the beginning, middle, or end of a word. These come with recording sheets for independent center use (Source 2).
"Digraphs and Blends Resource Rings" serve as quick-access tools for word lists and high-frequency words. These can be printed at different scales for flashcard size (Source 2).
Accessing and Usage Guidelines
Most of these resources are hosted on educational blogs or teacher marketplaces. Access typically involves visiting a specific URL or subscribing to a newsletter.
- Teacher Pay Teachers (TpT): Some freebies are hosted on TpT. Users should note the terms of use, which often prohibit posting the product on other websites or sharing the file directly, though linking to the product page is permitted (Source 3).
- Subscriber Libraries: Several resources, such as the Easy Reader Books and specific mouth formation posters, require subscribing to the creator's newsletter to access a password-protected freebie library (Source 2, Source 5).
- Direct Downloads: Other resources, such as the "Digraphs - Phonics Unit 6 - FREEBIE," are available directly through blog posts without a subscription requirement (Source 1).
Conclusion
The provided sources detail a comprehensive collection of free phonics digraph materials. These include visual aids, interactive tools, reading booklets, and worksheets covering sounds such as "sh," "ch," "th," "wh," and "ck." The resources are designed for use in kindergarten and first-grade settings to support early reading skills through multi-sensory and skill-based activities.