listbeeConsonant teams and blends
SH words
A digraph is two letters that make one sound. Sh is usually the first digraph children learn, and it appears at the beginning, middle and end of words.
- Sound
- /sh/ as in ship
- Usually taught
- Kindergarten–1st grade
- Words on this page
- 26 in 3 lists
SH words: word lists
Practice a list online (each word is read aloud), or open it in the worksheet maker to print a test, word search, or look-cover-write-check sheet.
sh at the beginning
10 words- ship
- shop
- shut
- shed
- shell
- shelf
- shine
- short
- sheep
- shirt
sh at the end
10 words- fish
- dish
- wish
- cash
- rush
- brush
- crash
- fresh
- flash
- push
Challenge words
6 words- splash
- shadow
- finish
- sunshine
- mushroom
- shower
How the pattern works
S and h together make one new sound, /sh/. Because it is a single sound, the two letters always stay together; a child should write them as one unit.
Counting sounds rather than letters helps: ship has three sounds (sh-i-p) but four letters.
Common mistakes
- Writing only s (sip for ship) or swapping the order (hs).
- Writing ch for sh, a common mix-up for Spanish-speaking children because Spanish has ch but not sh.
- Forgetting that sh can come at the end of a word: fish, wish, brush.
Practice ideas
- Tap the sounds on your fingers: f-i-sh is three taps, even though it has four letters.
- Sort the words into “sh at the start” and “sh at the end.”
Practicing a list from school?
Paste your child’s exact words to make listening practice and printables in seconds.