What are Trigraphs?
Introducing trigraphs is a big milestone because students are learning to recognize more complex spelling patterns. When we explicitly teach students what trigraphs are and give plenty of examples, we set students up for success when they encounter these patterns in real books.
Why Trigraphs Can Be Tricky
For many early readers, trigraphs feel like a big leap from simpler phonics patterns. Up until this point, students have mostly worked with single sounds or two-letter combinations, so seeing three letters together can feel overwhelming. The challenge comes from two main issues:
Sound Complexity: Some trigraphs represent a completely new sound (like tch), while others are blends that still require tracking multiple sounds in a row (like spl).
Visual Overload: When students see more letters packed together, they may freeze up or revert to guessing instead of decoding.
Without intentional teaching, students might skip over these patterns or misread them entirely. That’s why breaking trigraph instruction into small, predictable steps, paired with hands-on practice, is so important. When we give them time, repetition, and confidence-building activities, trigraphs stop feeling intimidating and start making sense.
Start with Sound Isolation
Before students ever see a trigraph on paper, start with the sounds themselves. Focus on one trigraph at a time and show students some picture cards of words that use it. Say each of the words aloud a few times and have students practice saying it slowly and then blending it quickly. You can say the trigraph and have students echo it, use mirrors so they can see their mouth movement, and tap out the sounds on their fingers before sliding them together. I have used all of these strategies to help students get comfortable with the sound before working with the trigraph. This step helps them internalize the sound chunk before adding the complexity of reading it in words.
Add Visual Support
Once students are comfortable with the sound, show them the letters that make it. Use an anchor chart, flashcards, or even a picture cue (for example, "str" with a picture of a strawberry). Keep this visual posted where students can see it during independent work. It’s an easy confidence booster that offers just the right amount of support!
Practice with Sorting Activities
Sorting is one of the best ways to reinforce trigraph recognition without overwhelming your students. Start with picture sorts so the focus is on listening to the sounds, then move to word sorts to connect spelling patterns with pronunciation.
One of my go-to tools for this step is my Trigraphs Word Sort Activities. In this resource, you will find 7 trigraph sorting category cards, 42 sorting cards with words and pictures, and 43 cards with pictures only. I like to laminate these cards and use them in a pocket chart for a whole group lesson first. I call on volunteers to come up and help sort word cards into the correct categories.
I love this activity because we can use as many (or as few) cards as we'd like to during the lesson. Then, I repurpose the cards during center time for independent or partner practice. There is also a recording sheet included that's great for student accountability when using the cards as a center activity.
Follow Up with Worksheets
Inside this resource, you will also find some no-prep sorting worksheets to continue practicing this skill. There are 14 different worksheets included, and these are great for centers, fast finishers, homework, or desk work. Students will color, cut, sort, and glue words under the correct trigraph heading, which builds both decoding and spelling skills. There is a lot of variety included to keep this activity fun!
Want to snag some free trigraph worksheets created by yours truly? Sign up here to be a part of my email community, and I'll send you a free sample pack of Trigraph Worksheets to use right away! I know you will find tons of great ways to use these in your classroom!
Make It Active with Write the Room
One of my favorite ways to make trigraph practice stick is with a Write the Room activity. Instead of sitting in one spot, students get to move around the classroom searching for cards with trigraph words. Each time they find one, they read the word and record it on their worksheet.
The benefits go far beyond just phonics practice, too! Movement breaks keep energy up and help restless learners refocus. Kinesthetic engagement means students are more likely to remember what they’ve learned because they’re pairing movement with reading. Built-in differentiation means that students can work at their own pace, in pairs, or individually. The benefits are truly endless when it comes to write the room!
Try this Beginning Trigraphs Write the Room resource in your classroom to squeeze in a little more practice! There are 2 sets of task cards included to allow for differentiation by skill level. Inside, you get 24 task cards with only the trigraph missing, and 24 task cards with the entire word left blank. Students look at the picture, identify the word, and fill it in on their recording sheet. There are 6 options to choose from.
Another Way to Use this Resource
You can also turn this into a Scoot game for even more variety. Simply place the cards at desks or learning stations, have students start at different spots, and then rotate every 30–60 seconds. With Scoot, the energy stays high, and you still get in repeated exposure to trigraph words without it feeling repetitive.
Provide Repeated Exposure
Like any phonics skill, trigraph mastery comes from repeated exposure in different contexts. Incorporate trigraph words into many different parts of your day for the best results. For example, you can work on them during small-group reading, independent reading time, your morning meeting, and word work centers! You can even add some of the trigraph picture cards to your writing center and ask students to write a story using a specific number of trigraph words.
Speaking of centers, I have a fun, free game that you can grab to help boost exposure to trigraphs in your classroom! These Beginning Trigraphs Phonics Puzzles are a great addition to your center routine! This freebie focuses on 3 letter blends and includes 16 decodable, 2-part puzzles. These are easy-cut puzzles, so you won't spend hours prepping! There are also 2 different styles of recording sheets included to help facilitate even more practice.
Weaving review of trigraphs into your center time routine and other parts of your schedule helps to keep the skill fresh and reinforces what you’ve taught!
Your Ready-to-Go Trigraph Toolkit
When you combine sound isolation, visual support, sorting, and active practice, you’re setting your students up for success without the overwhelm! Hooray! If you want a jump start, click on the pictures below to check out more of the resources I use in my classroom to make teaching trigraphs seamless and simple!
And as a bonus, don't forget, you can grab my Trigraph Worksheets Freebie when you sign up to be an email subscriber for even more low-prep, high-impact practice! With these strategies and tools, teaching trigraphs won’t feel like a mountain to climb, for you or your students.
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