Digraphs Worksheets for 1st Grade: ck, wh and ng
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Prints on one US Letter page; the answer key is a separate page. Print at 100% / "Actual size" on US Letter paper. Free for personal and classroom use.
Skill: Reading and spelling words with the digraphs ck, wh and ng
Teaching tips and what to try next
Suited to first graders who already read short vowel words and know the sh, ch and th sounds. A quick sort of picture cards into three piles, one for each digraph, warms up the ear before writing. Mix this page with Short Vowel CVC Words: Fill in the Vowel for review, or move on to Silent E Words (CVCe) when single-syllable spelling feels steady.
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About this worksheet
A digraph is two letters that work together to make one sound. Many first graders know sh, ch and th, but ck, wh and ng show up in just as many everyday words, such as duck, wheel and ring. Children often write only one letter, spelling duck as "duk" or ring as "rig." First graders are expected to know the spellings of common digraphs, and this first-grade phonics worksheet gives focused practice with these three.
The page has fifteen clues, five for each digraph. Each clue describes a short word, such as a bird that swims in a pond or a playground seat that goes back and forth. Next to the clue, the rest of the word is printed with a blank, and children write the two letters that finish it. The wh words have the blank at the start, like ___eel, while the ck and ng words have it at the end, like clo___. The three digraphs are mixed on the page, so children need to listen to each word.
How to use it: read each clue aloud and have your child say the answer word slowly. Ask where they hear the special sound: at the start or at the end. Point out that ck comes right after a short vowel, as in duck and rock, and that ng often follows i, as in king and swing. If a word is hard, act out the clue together.
The answer key gives each digraph and the whole word in red. For more digraphs, try our Digraphs: sh, ch and th worksheet. For two sounds at the end of a word, try our Ending Blends worksheet.