The Practice Library · Phonics
Digraph and Consonant Blend Worksheets
A digraph is two letters that make one new sound: sh in ship, ch in chin, th in thin. A blend is two or three consonants whose sounds are each still heard: fl in flag, str in string. These pages practice both, for Kindergarten and Grades 1, 3 and 4.
Each set works on one team or one idea. The first three pages of every set are free PDFs, open to everyone. The rest of each set, and an answer key for every page, are included with All Access.
Kindergarten digraph and blend worksheets
- The CK Ending Free PDF ck is two letters for the single sound /k/ at the end of a short-vowel word: rock, pick, duck, neck.
- Digraphs sh, ch, th, wh Free PDF A digraph is two letters that team up to make one new sound: sh in ship, ch in chin, th in thin and that, wh in when.
- Double Consonants Free PDF Double consonants appear at the end of many short-vowel words (bell, miss, puff, jazz) and in the middle of two-syllable words (rabbit, dinner), where they keep the first vowel short.
- The QU Sound Free PDF q is never written alone in English; it always travels with u, and the pair says /kw/: quick, quilt, queen, quack.
1st Grade digraph and blend worksheets
- Blends & Digraphs Free PDF A blend is two consonants whose sounds are both heard (bl, st, tr); a digraph is two consonants that make one new sound (sh, ch, th, wh). In Grade 1 this is a large set: final blends such as st, ng and nk and the s, l and r blends, taught on lesson pages and practiced in sorts, word chains, word hunts and short fluency reads.
- Double Letters Free PDF When the same consonant is written twice in the middle of a word, only one sound is heard: sup-per, bub-ble, hit-ting, tag-ging.
- The NG Sound Free PDF ng is a single sound made at the back of the mouth and written with two letters: sang, long, hung, ring, strong.
- Sounds That Blend Free PDF Consonant blends are two or three consonants side by side whose sounds are each heard: fl in flag, st in stop, str in string.
- Two Letters, One Sound Free PDF Two letters, one sound is the digraph idea: sh, ch and th each make a sound that neither letter makes on its own — ship, chin, thin. th has two versions, the quiet one in thin and the buzzing one in then, and both are correct.
- The WH Sound Free PDF wh is two letters for one sound at the start of a word: whip, wheat, whale, wheel.
3rd Grade digraph and blend worksheets
- Blends & Digraphs Free PDF A blend is two consonants whose sounds are both heard (bl, st, tr); a digraph is two consonants that make one new sound (sh, ch, th, wh). In Grade 3 there are eight pages, all of one kind: the child chooses tch or ch, or ph or f, to finish words such as kitchen, stitches, nephew and elephant.
4th Grade digraph and blend worksheets
- CH as /k/ Free PDF In a group of words that came into English from Greek, ch says /k/: school, chorus, echo, monarch, scheme, chaos, stomach.
- The -que and -gue Endings Free PDF The endings -que and -gue say a plain /k/ and /g/ with the ue silent: antique, unique, mosque, opaque and plague, league, tongue, vague.
How to use these pages
- Teach the difference by ear first. In a blend the child can hear each sound; in a digraph neither letter keeps its own.
- The Kindergarten sets take sh, ch, th and wh, then ck at the end of a short word, qu, and double consonants.
- The Grade 4 sets are the unusual spellings: ch saying /k/ in school and chorus, and the endings -que and -gue.
How digraphs are taught, step by step: Consonant Digraphs →
And the blends: Consonant Blends →
Practice pages support a program; they are not the lesson. These sheets reinforce Phonics, Decoding, and Early Fluency, the complete K–5 reading curriculum from Faith Readers. See every program →