A digraph is two letters that spell one sound, like sh in ship. In Zupzi Read's program, digraphs are Level 4, which also brings ff, ll, ss, zz and -all, -oll, -ull; tch and dge follow in Level 6. 16 lessons in all, across Level 4: Digraphs, Level 6: Long Words and Level 10: Rare Spellings.
- 16 lessons
- Level 4: Digraphs, Level 6: Long Words and Level 10: Rare Spellings
- 23 spellings
- 128 practice words
This page describes Zupzi Read's program: the order the app teaches in, lesson by lesson. Zupzi Read is coming soon to the App Store, and it goes there only with the whole program, ages 3 to 8.
One sound, two letters
The goal of Level 4 is to read a digraph as one sound. The sound slider shows it the same way: ship slides as three sounds, sh · i · p, not four. There are two lessons for th, because it has two sounds: the quiet one in thin and the buzzing one in this.
Digraphs and blends
A blend keeps every sound (st in stop is /s/ + /t/); a digraph makes one new sound (sh). See consonant blends.
Each spelling, with example words
In teaching order. The examples come from the word lists of the program, with the spelling in bold.
| Spelling | Sound | Example words | Lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| ff | ff as in fish | off, puff, muffin, giraffe | Level 4, lesson 1 |
| ll | ll as in lip | hill, bell, doll, shell, filled, jelly | Level 4, lesson 1 |
| ss | ss as in sun | kiss, mess, fuss, kisses, dresses, glasses | Level 4, lesson 1 |
| zz | zz as in zip | buzz, fizz, puzzle | Level 4, lesson 1 |
| all | all as in saw | ball, call, fall, tall, wall, hall | Level 4, lesson 2 |
| oll | oll as in bone | roll, toll | Level 4, lesson 2 |
| ull | ull as in book | pull, full | Level 4, lesson 2 |
| ck | ck as in cat | back, duck, kick, lock, neck, pack | Level 4, lesson 3 |
| sh | sh as in ship | ship, shop, fish, dish, wish, shut | Level 4, lesson 4 |
| th | th as in thin | thin, thick, bath, math, moth, path | Level 4, lesson 5 |
| th | th as in this | this, that, them, then, than, these | Level 4, lesson 6 |
| ch | ch as in chip | chip, chop, chin, such, much, rich | Level 4, lesson 7 |
| wh | wh as in wet | when, whip, which, why, whistle | Level 4, lesson 8 |
| ph | ph as in fish | graph | Level 4, lesson 9 |
| ng | ng as in ring | ring, sing, king, long, song, hang | Level 4, lesson 10 |
| nk | nk as in pink | pink, sink, bank, tank, junk, wink | Level 4, lesson 11 |
| tch | tch as in chip | catch, match, patch, fetch, witch, pitch | Level 6, lesson 8 |
| dge | dge as in jam | badge, edge, fudge, judge, bridge, ledge | Level 6, lesson 9 |
| ch | ch as in chef | chef, chute, machine | Level 10, lesson 11 |
| ch | ch as in school | school, chorus, echo, chrome, ache, chemist | Level 10, lesson 11 |
| gh | gh as in goat | ghost | Level 10, lesson 12 |
Where it sits in the path: 16 lessons
In the order the app teaches them, with the new spellings, a few of the lesson words and the heart words.
Level 4: Digraphs12 lessons here, of 12
- 1ff, ll, ss, zzNew: ff as in fish, ll as in lip, ss as in sun, zz as in zip · Words: off, puff, hill, bell, doll, kiss, mess, buzz · Heart words: could, would, should
- 2-all, -oll, -ullNew: all as in saw, oll as in bone, ull as in book · Words: ball, call, fall, tall, wall, roll, toll, pull
- 3ckNew: ck as in cat · Words: back, duck, kick, lock, neck, pack, sick, rock
- 4shNew: sh as in ship · Words: ship, shop, fish, dish, wish, shut, shed, rush · Heart words: she
- 5th as in thinNew: th as in thin · Words: thin, thick, bath, math, moth, path, tenth, cloth
- 6th as in thisNew: th as in this · Words: this, that, them, then, with, than · Heart words: they, there
- 7chNew: ch as in chip · Words: chip, chop, chin, such, much, rich, lunch, bench
- 8whNew: wh as in wet · Words: when, whip, which · Heart words: what, where, who
- 9phNew: ph as in fish · Words: graph
- 10ngNew: ng as in ring · Words: ring, sing, king, long, song, hang, wing, bang
- 11nkNew: nk as in pink · Words: pink, sink, bank, tank, junk, wink, honk, link
- 12Digraph reviewWords: ship, chip, thin, ring, pink, duck, bell, fish
Level 6: Long Words2 lessons here, of 14
- 8tchNew: tch as in chip · Words: catch, match, patch, fetch, witch, pitch, hutch, ditch
- 9dgeNew: dge as in jam · Words: badge, edge, fudge, judge, bridge, ledge, hedge, dodge
Level 10: Rare Spellings2 lessons here, of 18
- 11ch says /sh/ and /k/New: ch as in chef, ch as in school · Words: chef, chute, machine, school, chorus, echo, chrome, ache
- 12gn, gh, silent tNew: gn as in net, gh as in goat, silent t (listen) · Words: gnat, gnome, sign, gnaw, ghost, listen, castle, whistle
Practice words from these lessons
All 128 words from the word lists of these lessons, in the order they come up.
- off
- puff
- hill
- bell
- doll
- kiss
- mess
- buzz
- fizz
- fuss
- ball
- call
- fall
- tall
- wall
- roll
- toll
- pull
- full
- hall
- back
- duck
- kick
- lock
- neck
- pack
- sick
- rock
- stick
- truck
- ship
- shop
- fish
- dish
- wish
- shut
- shed
- rush
- brush
- shell
- thin
- thick
- bath
- math
- moth
- path
- tenth
- cloth
- this
- that
- them
- then
- with
- than
- chip
- chop
- chin
- such
- much
- rich
- lunch
- bench
- chest
- chat
- when
- whip
- which
- graph
- ring
- sing
- king
- long
- song
- hang
- wing
- bang
- lung
- sting
- pink
- sink
- bank
- tank
- junk
- wink
- honk
- link
- think
- drink
- catch
- match
- patch
- fetch
- witch
- pitch
- hutch
- ditch
- stitch
- sketch
- badge
- edge
- fudge
- judge
- bridge
- ledge
- hedge
- dodge
- ridge
- lodge
- chef
- chute
- machine
- school
- chorus
- echo
- chrome
- ache
- chemist
- orchid
- gnat
- gnome
- sign
- gnaw
- ghost
- listen
- castle
- whistle
- fasten
- align
Word pronunciations come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, Copyright (C) 1993-2015 Carnegie Mellon University. All rights reserved.
Questions about digraphs
Which digraphs does Zupzi Read teach?
ck, sh, th (as in thin and as in this), ch, wh, ph, ng and nk in Level 4; tch and dge in Level 6; and ch as in chef and as in school in Level 10.
What are ff, ll, ss and zz?
Double letters that spell one sound at the end of short words, like off, hill, kiss and buzz. They open Level 4.
More of the path
Phonics, step by step:
By age and grade:
Or jump to a level of the scope and sequence:
