2 consonants, one sound.

(sometimes called digraphs)

ck rock

ck two letters, one sound: /k/

We learned this one already in part 1.

At the end of a word or syllable (rock).
After a vowel says its short sound (back, duck, pick, deck, lock).

sh ship

sh two letters, one sound: /sh/

th three

th two letters, one sound: /th/

This sound can be voiced (your vocal cords vibrate) or unvoiced (like “three”)(your vocal cords don’t vibrate). Try putting your hand on the top of your throat as you say these sounds:

VOICED TH
(Initial) these, them, they
(medial) brother
(final) breathe

UNVOICED TH
(initial) three, thin
(medial) bathroom
(final) tooth, earth

wh whale

wh two letters, one sound: wh

This “whale” is called an Orca. It is actually a very large dolphin, not a whale. Orca talk and get directions using whistles and clicks. Maybe after learning to read we should all learn the Orca language.

w is a very tricky sound to say in isolation. You have to try not to say “wuh”, because then you would say “w uh a le”. It sounds more like “oo” (like in ‘coo’)? You could put your lips forward and start slowly saying “wuh” but drop the “uh” at the last minute. Not a perfect plan, and not perfectly executed in the video, but we had a whale of a time with this dolphin :-)