IN TR ODUCT O R Y
Lesson 6: sh
Materials
Step 1: Phonogram Cards
• Phonogram Cards 1–26
• Decodable 1 Word Cards 63–70
• BLM p. 8, Key Word Concept Sheet sh
Step 2: Phonological Awareness
• BLM p. 19, Key Word Card sh
Step 3: Word Building
• Small Letter sets
Step 4: Decoding and Sentence Reading
• Reader 1, p. 56
• Concept Mastery Fluency Drill 6
Step 5: Prereading
Step 6: Reading
• BLM p. 51, Word Find Sheet sh
Step 7: Sound Dictation
• BLM p. 64, Sounds and Words
Dictation Paper
Step 8: Prespelling
Step 9: Spelling
• BLM p. 64, Sounds and Words
Dictation Paper
Step 10: Sentence Dictation
• BLM p. 65, Sentence Dictation Paper
Steps Overview
Procedures Examples
• Review Phonogram Cards 1–25 and
Decodable 1 Word Cards.
• Introduce Phonogram Card 26.
• Introduce sh, ship.
• Sound Identification: compare words shoe, sun, ship, cat, fish, dish, shed, sat,
with sh with other words. mash, shut, shop, shell
• Students use letters to build words ship, shop, fish, dish, shed, mash
and sound them out.
• Word decoding and sentence reading shed, shun, hash, shin, gash, mesh,
• Develop vocabulary. shod, sash, lush
• sh automaticity
• Letter/sound analysis (What letters ship
say /sh/?)
• Sound Substitution: ship to shop
• Circle /sh/ words.  . The fish is in the shed. 2. Dash in a
1
• Write sentences on the board to read. flash. 3. Smash a dish. 4. Get fresh fish!
5. Crush the trash.
• Write known spellings for sounds. / sh/, /ĕ/, /sh/, /ĭ/, /sh/, /s/, /b/, /sh/,
/ŏ/, /sh/
• Say each phoneme. (What is the first ship
sound you hear in ship? What is the
second sound…)
• Dictate words, students write, ship, shed, shop, fish, dish, wish, dash,
then read. shot, rush, lash
• Make a dash for every word in the 1. The fish is on the dish.
sentence, then write each word on 2. Rush and ship it.
a dash.
S. P. I. R.E. Level 1 187
IN TR ODUCT O R Y   Lesson 6

Lesson 6 sh introduces students to the concept of a consonant team, two consonant letters that together
make one sound. A consonant team cannot be represented by any single letter in our alphabet, and a
consonant team will always make its special sound. The consonant team sh always makes the sound /sh/.
Before beginning work on Lessons 6 and 6a–c, you can administer Form A of Decoding Assessment: sh
to help determine a student’s ability level with this consonant team.

1 5
  Step Phonogram Cards

Shuffle and drill Phonogram Cards 1–25.

When I hold up these green cards, say the word as quickly as you can. If you
forget what a green card says, you can sound it out.
Shuffle and drill Decodable 1 Word Cards 63–70.
Hold up Phonogram Card 26.
You have been doing such a great job that you are ready for a new letter
card and sound! The consonant letters sh work together to make one sound.
These two consonant letters, s and h, are a team. What is the name of this
team? (sh)The team sh is a consonant team. What does the consonant team sh
do? (It makes one sound.) These two consonant letters appear together on one
white Phonogram Card because they work together to make one sound.
What are these letter names that work together as a team? (s, h) Today you
will learn to read and spell words with the consonant team sh.
Hold up Key Word Concept Sheet sh.
The key word for sh is ship. What is the key word? (ship) Listen as I say the key
word slowly.
Say ship slowly, emphasizing the /sh/ sound.
The key word helps us “unlock” the sound to remember it. The sound the
letters sh make together is /sh/. What sound does sh together make? (/sh/)
/sh/ is one sound. Say ship, /sh/. When I hold up the Phonogram Card, I want
you to say sh, /sh/, ship, /sh/.
Hold up Phonogram Card 26 and Key Word Concept Sheet sh and have students
repeat sh, /sh/, ship, /sh/ several times.

2 5
  Step   Phonological Awareness

SOUND IDENTIFICATION
Give each student a Key Word Card sh.
I will say a word. Repeat the word and if you hear the /sh/ sound in the word,
hold up Key Word Card sh.

1 88 S. P. I. R.E. Level 1
 sh

Say shoe; have students repeat it and hold up Key Word Card sh.
Did you hear /sh/ in the word shoe? (yes) Then you should hold up Key Word
Card sh.
Say sun; students should repeat it, but should not hold up Key Word Card sh.
Did you hear /sh/ in sun? (no) Then you should not hold up Key Word Card sh.
Repeat the activity with dash, cat, fish, shed, dish, sat, mash, shut, shop, and shell.

3 5
  Step   Word Building

Distribute Small Letter sets, including Small Letter sh.

Today we will build words with our new consonant team sh that says /sh/.
Listen as I say a word: ship. Say ship. Let’s sound out ship using our fingers.
Use your fingers to segment the sounds in ship, as in Lesson 1, Step 3.
Say ship. How many sounds do you hear in the word ship? (3) What’s the first
sound you hear in ship? (/sh/) Bring down your new Small Letter sh. What is
the next sound you hear in ship? (/ĭ/) What vowel letter says /ĭ/? (i) Bring down
Small Letter i, and put it next to the sh. What is the last sound you hear in
ship? (/p/) Bring down the Small Letter that says /p/, and put it next to the i.
Put your finger under the letters sh in the word. Sound out the word, pointing
to each letter or letter team as you say its sound. Remember, sh has one
sound. Go back to the beginning of the word and glide your finger under the
word, saying it fast.
Repeat the activity with shop, fish, dish, shed, and mash.

4 10
  Step   Decoding and Sentence Reading

Open your Reader to page 56. Put your finger under the first word. (ship)
Underline the vowel. Look at the word. Do you see a consonant team? (yes)
You see sh together. I will show you how to join them as a team to show they
have one sound.
Demonstrate how to join the letters together: print the word ship on the board.
Say ship and join the letters by drawing a curved line (a smile) underneath the sh
to show that the letters stay together.
What is the vowel’s name? (i) What is the vowel’s sound? (/ĭ/) Put your finger
under the first letter or team in the word. Point to each letter or team and
give its sound. Go back to the beginning of the word, glide your finder under
the word, and say it fast. Who can use this word in a sentence?

S. P. I. R.E. Level 1 189

IN TR ODUCT O R Y   Lesson 6

Repeat the process with as many words as can be read in ten minutes, reading
from left to right. Use Concept Mastery Fluency Drill 6 when students need more
practice with reading words with the consonant team sh.

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT
Check that students understand the meaning of the words, and teach the
meaning of any unknown words. The following words may present meaning
challenges for some students: shed, shun, hash, shin, gash, mesh, shod, sash, lush.

5 5
  Step   Prereading

PHONEME-GRAPHEME ANALYSIS
Write ship on the board. Underline the vowel and point to the word.
This word is ship. What is this word? (ship)

what letter says /ĭ/? (i)

what two letters say /sh/? (s, h)
what letter says /p/? (p)
In the word ship…
what do the two letters sh say? (/sh/)
what does the letter p say? (/p/)
what does the letter i say? (/ĭ/)

Say ship. How many sounds do we hear in the word ship? (3) Segment the
sounds, using your fingers. (/sh/ /ĭ/ /p/) Say ship. Say ship again, but instead of
/ĭ/, say /ŏ/. (shop)

6 15
  Step   Reading

Distribute a Word Find Sheet to each student.

What letters do you see in the center of the Word Find Sheet? (sh) What sound
do the letters sh make? (/sh/) Look at all the words on this page. Find words
with the consonant team sh. Color the sh green, and draw a smile under it.
Then read each word and circle it. See how many words you can find and read
in five minutes.
After five minutes, have students alternate reading words aloud. As a word is
read, write it on the board and have students check off the word on their paper.
Then write the following sentences on the board:
The fish is in the shed. Get fresh fish!

Dash in a flash. Crush the trash.

Smash a dish.

1 90 S. P. I. R.E. Level 1
 sh

Look at this first sentence. What is the first word? (The) What vowel do you see
in the second word? (i) What sound does the letter i make? (/ĭ/) Do you see a
consonant team? Yes, you see sh. I will draw a smile under the letters to show
they are a team and they work together to make one sound.
Look at the first letter in the word. Say each sound as I point to the letter.
(/f/ /ĭ/ /sh/) Now let’s go back to the beginning and say it fast. (fish) Follow as I
read the first three words: The fish is. Look at the next word and silently sound
it out. Who can tell me what the word says? (in) The next word is the. Now look
at the last word. What is the vowel? (e) What sound does e make? (/ĕ/) Do you
see something else? (consonant team sh) Would someone like to go to the
board and mark sh with a smile? What sound does sh together make? (/sh/)
Sound out the word. (/sh/ /ĕ/ /d/) Go back to the beginning of the sentence
and silently read the whole sentence to the end without stopping.
Have a student come to the board to circle all of the /sh/ words in the first
sentence and read them aloud. Ask other students to read the circled words
and then the whole sentence. Finally, read the sentence together with students.
Repeat this procedure with the remaining sentences.

7 2
  Step   Sound Dictation

Distribute Sounds and Words Dictation Paper to each student.

Say /sh/. (/sh/) What letters make the /sh/ sound? (s, h) With your finger, write
the letters on your palm as you name them. Now, write sh on your paper,
naming the letters as you write. Look at the letters you just wrote. What is the
name of the consonant team? (sh) What sound does sh make? (/sh/)
Repeat with the following sounds:
/ĕ/ (e), /sh/ (sh), /ĭ/ (i), /sh/ (sh), /s/ (s), /b/ (b), /sh/ (sh), /ŏ/ (o), /sh/ (sh)

8 3
  Step   Prespelling

PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS
Say ship. What is the first sound you hear? (/sh/) Say ship. What vowel sound
do you hear? (/ĭ/) Say ship. What is the last sound you hear? (/p/)
Say ship. Say ship again, but instead of /p/, say /n/. (shin)

S. P. I. R.E. Level 1 191

IN TR ODUCT O R Y   Lesson 6

9 5
  Step   Spelling

Have students use Sounds and Words Dictation Paper distributed in Step 7.
Say ship. Let’s spell ship together, writing the letters on your palm as you
name them. (s, h, i, p) Now pick up your pencil and write the word ship on your
paper, naming the letters as you write them.
Look at the word you just wrote and underline the vowel. What is the vowel’s
name? (i) What sound does the vowel i make? (/ĭ/) Draw a smile under the
consonant team. Go to the beginning of the word and sound out each team or
letter. (/sh/ /ĭ/ /p/) Now glide your finger under the word, and say it fast. (ship)
Repeat with the following words: shed, shop, fish, dish, wish, dash, shot, rush, lash.
When finished, have students take turns reading the words aloud.

10 5
  Step   Sentence Dictation

Distribute Sentence Dictation Paper to each student.

Listen carefully as I say a sentence, and watch as I make a dash on the board
for each word.
The fish is on the dish.
Make a dash as you say each word.
Watch as I point to each dash and say the sentence again.
Say the sentence again as you point to each dash.
Now you say the sentence as I point to each dash. Say the sentence again, this
time making a dash for each word on your paper. Look at your dashes again
and say the sentence, pointing to each dash as you say a word. Now write the
sentence on your paper. Put your pencil down when you finish and go back
and check the sentence. If you find a mistake, do not erase it. Make a bracket
around the mistake and write the correct word above it.
You may need to demonstrate bracketing a mistake and making a correction.
Help students check and correct their sentence.
Who will read the sentence aloud?
Repeat the procedure with this sentence: Rush and ship it. When finished, have
students read both sentences aloud.

1 92 S. P. I. R.E. Level 1