Digraphs Teaching Resources

Explore digraph worksheets, learning games and more phonics teaching resources created by teachers for teachers like you!

This collection of printable and digital digraph teacher resources is aligned with the Australian English curriculum and included everything you need to build your lesson plans. You'll find easily editable options, created by our teacher team so that you can easily differentiate instruction.

Are you new to teaching early literacy? Or are you looking for a refresher? Read on for a digraphs primer from our teacher team!

What Is a Digraph?

If you're teaching phonological awareness or reading, you'll need to know! A digraph is a building block of literacy for any young reader.

But how do you teach digraphs in phonics? And what is a consonant digraph?

Digraph Definition

To really answer the question 'what is a digraph,' it's worth going back to the word origin.The word digraph dates back to the 1700s, and it's built from the roots di- (meaning twice) and -graph (meaning something written).

By definition, a digraph is the term used to describe two consecutive letters that work together to make one sound.

If you want to get technical, digraphs are a kind of grapheme — a word that refers to any unit (such as a letter or group of letters) in a writing system. In this case, graphemes are letters or groups of letters in English.

Making sense? We've got one more important phonics term for you!  The English language is comprised of about 44 phonemes (the word for the individual speech sounds that make up words). Phonemes can be written in more than 200 letter combinations known as — you guessed it — graphemes and digraphs!

What Are the Most Common Digraphs in the English Language?

Digraphs are often taught in order, starting with those most commonly appearing in English words. Here are some common digraph examples students will encounter:

• ch (as in chin),
• ch (as in school),
• ng (as in sing),
• ph (as in phone),
• sh (as in ship),
• th (as is think),
• wh (as is wheel)

What Is the Difference Between a Digraph and a Blend?

Have you heard the terms digraph and blend thrown around? They seem like they'd be the same thing, but don't be deceived!

While they look the same, there is a major difference between a digraph and a blend. A digraph is defined as two letters that make a single sound. The blend is a combination of letters whose sounds are linked together, but not combined when forming a word. The blend stands apart because its letters still make two distinct sounds.

For example, the 'sl' combination in 'sleep' is a blend, rather than a digraph. That is because you still pronounce the /s/ and /l/ sounds when pronouncing the word.

Another difference between a digraph and a blend is that a digraph can be made up of two consonants or two vowels, while blends are only made up of consonants.

Teaching About Digraphs — Why It's Important

The teaching of phonic digraphs helps students to understand that letter combinations can represent more than one sound and that a syllable must contain a vowel sound.

Teaching students about phonic digraphs in your primaryclassroom will also help them to recognise and associate sounds of the letters of the alphabet, which will help them to improve their reading skills and efficiency.