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sh Words: Word List and Worksheets

6 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

A list of sh words, two trace-and-write pages, a picture hunt, a fill-in page and short sh sentences to read.

Download the sh words worksheets

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these sh words worksheets

The letters sh make one quiet sound, the one you make with a finger on your lips: shhh. It is usually the first digraph children learn because the sound is easy to hear and hold.

sh words at the beginning: ship, shop, shed, shell, she, shut, shark, sheep, shoe, shirt. sh words at the end: fish, dish, wish, cash, rush, mash, push, bush, brush, crash. The one-page sh word list below has the same words in big print, with pictures for the ones a child can see.

Digraphs are a 1st grade skill that many children start late in kindergarten. The pages below go from hearing sh, to writing it, to reading it in short sentences.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.AKnow the spelling-sound correspondences for common consonant digraphs.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.1.3.BDecode regularly spelled one-syllable words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.3.ADemonstrate basic knowledge of one-to-one letter-sound correspondences by producing the primary sound or many of the most frequent sounds for each consonant.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.2.CWrite a letter or letters for most consonant and short-vowel sounds (phonemes).

How to use them

  1. Read the word list together first. Point to the bold sh in each word and say its one sound before reading the word.
  2. On the picture page, say each picture's name out loud. Your child circles the ones with the sh sound, at the start or the end.
  3. Use the tracing pages for writing: trace the first word, trace the faint copy, then write it on the line below from the start dots.
  4. Finish with the sentence page. Your child reads each sentence and circles the picture it describes.

Teaching tips

  • If your child says s for sh (sip for ship), have them push their lips forward like a kiss. s is a smile; sh is a kiss.
  • sh can come at the start (ship) or end (fish) of a word. Ask, “Where do you hear sh?” after each word.
  • She is a sight word for many classes, but it is also a perfectly regular sh word: sh-e.
  • Play “I spy” with sh words around the house: shoe, shirt, shelf, dish, brush.

Questions teachers and parents ask

What are some sh words for kids?

Easy sh words include ship, shop, shell, she, shut, fish, dish, wish and cash. Picture words like sheep, shoe, shirt and shark are great for pre-readers.

Is sh a digraph or a blend?

sh is a digraph. The two letters make one new sound, so you don't hear the s and the h separately.

How do I teach the sh sound?

Put a finger to your lips and say shhh. Then say a word that starts with it, like ship, stretching the first sound: shhh-ip.