THEY DO HAVE MULTIPLE SOUNDS AND FOR A FUN REASON –
How to Easily Teach the Multiple Sounds of CONSONANT DIGRAPHS (Second Part)
Multiple sounds of consonant digraphs can be confusing to readers. However, they become understandable and not confusing at all when you clarify them through research and activities that help your kids realize how amazing our English language is.
The English language is a “melting pot” that has developed over hundreds of years to include digraphs and words from many languages. Exploring England, Greece, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the Germanic countries by utilizing maps, books, food, plays, drawing and stories will excite your children as they learn the origins of the consonant digraph sounds.
Pique their interest in the history of the English language as an ever-changing entity using the multi-sensory activities below:
· Girls dress in fancy dresses as princesses and boys wear Bobby hats as they act out plays depicting life in England imagining castles, red telephone booths, and double-decker busses.
· Children love discussing that Greece is not “greasy” and learning where the name came from! I hear oohs and aahs as we look at Greek architecture. I hear oohs and aahs as we look at Greek architecture.
· Don’t we all love Italian food! Spaghetti for a special class party is a hit! Serve French croissants for dessert. Say “grazie” in Italian and “merci” in French.
· Christmas time is a perfect time to learn about the Netherlands by showing pictures of St. Nicholas, sleighs and wooden shoes.
· Use maps to study the old Germanic countries and compare them with the boundaries of countries of today.
After all of these fascinating activities, children are anxious to learn which of our words come from these interesting places in the world and, more importantly, they have a “hook” to help them remember the many sounds of consonant digraphs. Plus, you are beginning to instill a love of language in your children. What a marvelous, ever lasting gift to give them!
In my last post in this series, I shared examples of teaching the hard and soft sounds of “th” and I shared the need to teach all sounds of a digraph when you begin teaching it. So, I have to follow my own instructions and finish telling you that “th” has a third sound of /t/.
The /t/ sound of “th” is from the Greek language in words such as thyme and Thomas. I always let children smell thyme and suggest they ask Mom or Dad to add a bit to their hamburgers or meatloaf at home.
In one part of my Silent Elephant “e” lesson, the soft and hard sounds of “th” are connected in an unusual way adding to our exploration of the different countries that have added to the beauty of English. Explore with the children how the soft “th” in “teeth” becomes the hard “th” in “teethe” when Silent Elephant “e” is added to the end. This is a mix of Germanic and English. Other examples are bath/bathe, breath/breathe, and cloth/clothe.
Now, let’s look at origins of other digraphs. The consonant digraph “ch” has three sounds. Notice that the three sounds all come from different languages.
1. /ch/ as in child—English (They are a child. Have them point to themselves, draw a picture of themselves and title it “I Am a Child”.)
2. /sh/ as in machine; crochet—French (My boys especially love “machine”!)
3. /k/ as in school—Greek (Children draw pictures of their school. If appropriate, children draw a picture of a Christmas tree to celebrate Christ’s birthday.)
The consonant digraph “gh” has three sounds:
1. /f/ as in laugh and cough—Dutch, Germanic (Children draw an open mouth on their consonant digraph papers and act out a cough and a laugh.)
2. /silent/ as in thigh, knight—Germanic, English (Touch thighs; pretend to be a knight dueling a dragon!)
/silent/ as in sleigh—Dutch (Oh, those poor children in the Netherlands have to write 4 letters just to make a long “a” sound and there is not even an “a” in “eigh”! Oh, my goodness!)
3. /g/ as in spaghetti—Italian
/g/ as in ghost, ghoul, ghastly—Germanic (If appropriate, children draw ghastly looking Halloween pictures of ghosts and ghouls.)
The consonant digraph “rh” comes from the Greek language in words such as: rhyme, rhythm, rhubarb, rhinoceros, and rhombus. (Enjoy eating delicious rhubarb with your children, drawing a picture of a rhinoceros, figuring out what a rhombus is, clapping rhythms and reading books and poems that rhyme!)
I have included many more exciting and brain stimulating activities for you in Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”. You won’t run out of activities and ideas!
If you have further questions about teaching consonant digraphs, feel free to contact us.