shr, thr

Would a little mouse shriek if he saw this lion?       

We have many consonant blends in which each letter keeps its own sound and blends with other consonants, like cl claw and cr crow. 

We have only 6 digraph teams. In a digraph, each letter drops its basic sound and the two letters melt together to create a special sound: sh, th, wh, ch, ph, gh - ship, thorn, chip, whale, photo, laugh / night (silent gh).

Digraph teams sh and th blend with letter r: shr and thr.   Young children have trouble twisting their tongues to make these sounds.

You say each word below, letting your child point to and repeat after you. Directing your child to listen for the difference between the s for sip and the sh for ship. Talk about the difference.

sip > ship            sell > shell            sake > shake        so > show

Ask your child to point as you read, then reread and repeat these words with your child. Tell each other sentences using these words:

ship             shoe           shake          sharp 

          

shell            shop           share           shark     

Now, say and listen to shr. Take turns using these words in sentences.

shred         shrill       shrimp      shrew a mouse      shriek a scream

Ask your child to try to read these words, while you listen.

shrub        shrug         shrink        shriek         screw       screwdriver

  

Guide your child through the same steps with t then th then thr.  Take care to say and hear these separate sounds. Repeat. Watch for these letter teams when you read together. Assign the task of finding and circling these letter teams in stories your child can write on, or used books.

torn > thorn            tin > thin           tick > thick

 

Try:

thorn          thin           thick         thunder       thousand

thumb        think         thistle       thump          thirty

Now, say and listen to thr:

three        throne      throw the ball               I ran through the bushes (silent gh)

thread      throat      a minute ago, I threw the ball


Look to the right side of this blog to see other lessons. You may like to look at the books I have to help your child become a strong and happy reader. I use ebay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will pop up for you. Scroll down to see books at your child's level. Lots of color pictures with lessons practiced in stories. These will not be throwaway workbooks. Lots of info for parents and teachers, plus my contact info.

Feel welcome to leave questions or comments. Have a great day reading with your child,
Mary Maisner