Hear and Find /sh/

Overview

In this first lesson of a three-lesson unit, students listen for the /sh/ sound at the beginning and end of words. They connect the sound to the two-letter spelling sh, sort picture or word cards, and briefly review short-vowel CVC sounds needed for later decoding.

Learning intentions

Students will be able to:

• Hear and say the /sh/ sound in spoken words.
• Identify whether /sh/ occurs at the beginning or end of a word.
• Recognize that sh represents one sound.
• Review short-vowel sounds in simple CVC words.

Success criteria

• I can say /sh/ clearly.
• I can tell whether a word starts or ends with /sh/.
• I can find sh in a word.
• I can read or sound out a short CVC word.

Curriculum links

• Phonological awareness — students identify and work with individual phonemes in spoken words.
• Phonics and word analysis — students apply grade-level sound-spelling knowledge to decode words.
• Common consonant digraphs — students learn that two letters, sh, represent one sound.
• Colorado Academic Standards, Common Core-aligned Grade 1 reading foundations.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and listening warm-up. Teacher opens the hook and listening slides and says “ship,” stretching the /sh/ sound, then asks, “What sound do you hear at the start?” Students watch the teacher’s mouth, repeat /sh/, and make a quiet “sh” gesture with a finger near their lips.

2. 4–9 min · Review short-vowel sounds. Teacher displays the CVC review words map, bed, pig, hot, sun on the sound review slides; teacher points to each word, briefly models continuous blending, and asks students to identify the middle vowel. Students tap the sounds, blend each word, and hold up or say the vowel they hear.

3. 9–14 min · Teach /sh/ and sh. Teacher presents ship, shop, fish, and dish on the /sh/ teaching slides, models /sh/ as one sound, and explains that s and h work together as a digraph. Students repeat each word, listen for /sh/, and trace sh in the air while saying /sh/, not /s/ /h/.

4. 14–21 min · Guided sound sort. Teacher places picture or word cards for ship, shell, shop, fish, dish, brush, map, sun, bed, and pig where all five students can reach them. Students take turns saying a card, stretching the word, and placing it in one of three groups: /sh/ at the beginning, /sh/ at the end, or no /sh/. Teacher uses the sorting directions and category slides to display the headings and pauses to ask, “Where did you hear /sh/?” Students may ask a peer to repeat a word before deciding.

5. 21–26 min · Independent check. Teacher distributes the hear-and-find /sh/ worksheet and completes the first item aloud. Students circle pictures or words with /sh/, mark whether the sound is at the beginning or end, and read or match two simple words such as ship and fish. Teacher works beside students who need support, saying each word slowly without giving away the answer.

6. 26–30 min · Share and exit check. Teacher returns to the review and closing slides and says shell, cash, sun, and shop one at a time. Students show a beginning, ending, or no-/sh/ signal and explain one choice. For a final oral exit check, each student identifies the location of /sh/ in one new word, such as shut, wish, or sock; teacher records the response.

Resources

• the /sh/ sound and sorting slide deck
• the hear-and-find /sh/ worksheet
• Picture or word cards: ship, shell, shop, fish, dish, brush, map, sun, bed, pig
• Three sorting spaces labeled “/sh/ at the beginning,” “/sh/ at the end,” and “no /sh/”
• Whiteboard and marker
• Pencils and crayons
• Small counters or sound-tapping chips
• Teacher phonics observation checklist

Assessment

• During warm-up and direct teaching, listen for accurate /sh/ production and check whether students treat sh as one sound.
• During the sort, record whether each student can identify beginning /sh/, ending /sh/, and words without /sh/.
• Use the worksheet and oral exit check to identify students ready to decode sh words and students needing more listening practice.

Differentiation

• For support, use picture cards first, exaggerate the /sh/ sound, allow students to repeat a word with the teacher, and provide the sentence frame: “I hear /sh/ at the ___.”
• For students who confuse /sh/ with /s/, contrast ship/sip and shop/sop orally and have them watch the teacher’s lips.
• For students who need reduced writing demands, let them point, sort, circle, or answer orally while an adult records responses.
• For multilingual learners, pair each picture with clear teacher modeling and gesture; avoid requiring students to know the picture name before listening to the sound.
• For students ready for more challenge, invite them to suggest another word with /sh/ at the beginning or end and identify the short vowel in a word such as ship or shop.