Basic 4 · Ghanaian Language · Letter and Sound Knowledge
Sounds and Digraphs in Sentences
In this topic you will read and recognise sounds and digraphs in sentences.
By the end of these notes you should be able to:
- Explain what a digraph is
- Identify digraphs in words and sentences
- Read sentences containing digraphs
What you already know
- Decoding words (Basic 3)
Copy everything that has a blue line on its left into your notebook. The other parts are for reading.
- Strand
- Reading
- Sub-strand
- Letter and Sound Knowledge
- Indicator
- B4.2.4.1.1-3 – Read and recognize sounds and diagraphs in sentences
Introduction
Some sounds are written with two letters. In English, "sh" in "ship" is one sound. Many Ghanaian languages also use two letters for one sound.
1. Digraphs
Digraph: Two letters that together make one sound.
| Digraph | Example words |
|---|---|
| sh | ship, fish |
| ch | chair, church |
| th | three, bath |
| ph | phone, photo |
| ng | sing, king |
2. Digraphs in Ghanaian Languages
Many Ghanaian languages have their own digraphs. For example, Akan (Twi) uses "ky", "gy", "hw" and "ny", and Ewe uses "gb", "kp" and "ts".
Learn the digraphs of your own Ghanaian language with your teacher.
3. Reading Sentences
- The fisherman sells fresh fish.
- The children sang a song in church.
- Three phones are on the shelf.
New words
- digraph
- Two letters that make one sound.
- sound
- What we hear when we say letters.
- sentence
- A group of words that makes sense.
- vowel
- A letter like a, e, i, o, u.
- consonant
- A letter that is not a vowel.
- recognise
- To know when you see it.
Summary
- A digraph is two letters making one sound.
- English digraphs include sh, ch, th, ph and ng.
- Ghanaian languages also have digraphs, like gb and ky.
- Recognising digraphs helps us read sentences.
Class activity: Digraph Hunt
- Use the letter cards and word cards.
- Find digraphs in sentences from your storybook.
- Read the sentences aloud to your partner.
You need: Locally made letter cards, Word cards with pictures of local objects, Bottle tops marked with letters
Exercises
Answer in your exercise book first, then check your answers.
1. Which word has the digraph "sh"?
- A. ship
- B. sip
- C. hip
- D. spin
Show answer
Answer: ships and h make one sound.2. Which is a digraph used in Ewe?
- A. gb
- B. ab
- C. st
- D. mp
Show answer
Answer: gbEwe uses gb.3. Two letters making one sound are a…
- A. Digraph
- B. Vowel
- C. Syllable
- D. Sentence
Show answer
Answer: DigraphThat is a digraph.4. "ph" in "phone" sounds like "f".
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: Trueph makes the f sound.5. A digraph is three letters making two sounds.
- A. True
- B. False
Show answer
Answer: FalseIt is two letters making one sound.6. The digraph in "king" is ______.
Show answer
Answer: ngn and g make one sound.7. Find the digraphs in "The chief sat on a thick mat."
Show answer
Answer: ch (chief), th (The, thick)Look for letter pairs.8. Why is it important to recognise digraphs when reading?
Show answer
Answer: So we read the correct sound and pronounce words properly.Digraphs change sounds.
Homework
- Find five words with digraphs in your Ghanaian language.