Understanding Diagraphs

1. Students will begin the lesson on the carpet. The teacher will explain to students how they will be learning about important word parts.
2. The teacher should place cards with the following digraphs: ‘-sh, -ch, -th, and -ck’ along with some vowel cards in a pocket chart or on the easel for students to see. The teacher should read these ending diagraphs aloud to students and remind them that they have seen these endings in books they have read before.
3. Discuss with students a few examples of beginnings they could add to these ending diagraphs. Examples might be ‘dish, dash, lock, and lick.’ After discussing these with students and writing them on chart paper. Create a mini-story using these examples and share them with students.  
4. Have students work in groups to do the same thing. Assign each group an ending. They should first, come up with a list of words together that have that ending and write it on their whiteboards. Once they have done this, the teacher should come and check their word list to make sure students are creating true words. Once the teacher has checked the word list, the students should work together to create a mini-story. They should be given about 25-30 minutes. If you want to challenge students, you can have them choose another ending and do the same thing, but have them create a story using both word lists.
5. Once students have come up with their story, students can be given nice paper, or a poster to write their story on once they have finished a rough draft.
6. The students should be given the opportunity to share the mini-stories they created with the class. After a group has shared, the teacher should create a discussion around which ending the group was assigned and words that the class recognized in the story.

The video attached may be useful to show before teaching this lesson, depending on the needs of your students. 

Ideas for remediation:

1.Instead of writing a story, students could practice making words using the digraphs on dry erase boards.

2. Students could also try using those words they create orally in sentences with partners.

3. Students can practice making words by matching beginning sounds and word parts (digraphs) on index cards.

Students will be assessed through questioning that takes place throughout the lesson. They will also be assessed through the group assignment, and stories they create.