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Phonics

'SH' Words: 40 Digraph Words for 1st Grade Readers

Master the sh digraph with 40 real sh words for 1st grade readers — ship, fish, brush and more — sorted by where sh sits in the word, plus a quiet 10-step routine of listening games, sorting, and reading practice.

By Bright Play Days Editorial Team Updated 9 min read

The sh digraph is s + h making one sound — /ʃ/, like the bedtime shhh. This list gives 1st grade readers 40 real sh words grouped by position: 16 starting with sh (ship, shark), 10 with sh in the middle (cushion, mushroom), and 14 ending in sh (fish, brush), plus whisper games and sorting practice that make the pattern stick.

Mother and young daughter giggling through an sh-words whisper game at a sunny kitchen table

The short version

  • sh is a digraph: two letters, one sound (/ʃ/).
  • Grouping words by sh position (start, middle, end) makes the pattern visible.
  • Listening games come before reading games — hearing sh makes spotting sh easier.
  • 10–15 minute daily sessions beat one long sitting.
  • Every word on the list is a genuine sh digraph — no s+h tricksters.
Age
Ages 6–8
Prep
10 min
Play time
15 min
Mess
None
Difficulty
Easy
Where
Indoor

Why kids love this

The sh sound is one your child has known since preschool — the bedtime shhh. This session turns it into a reading superpower: a whisper game where sh words are secret signals, a sorting race where cards whoosh into three baskets, and a reading round where every word feels like a win because the child already hears the sound in it. That "I already knew that!" moment is pure fuel for a new 1st grade reader.

What you'll need

  • 40 index cards or paper cut into cards, and a thick marker pen
  • The 40-word list below (printed or on your phone)
  • 3 small baskets or bowls
  • A hand mirror
  • Star stickers
  • One familiar picture book

Before you start

1. Write the 40 sh words large and lowercase, one per card, grouped as below: sh at the start (16), sh in the middle (10), sh at the end (14). Every card must be a word where sh makes the single /ʃ/ sound.

2. Set the three baskets in a row — one for each position of sh. A quick picture on each (a ship at the card's left edge, a mushroom in the middle, a fish at the right) marks the pile without any readable letters.

3. Read the list aloud to yourself once. These are everyday words — ship, shell, fish, brush — no tricksters.

4. Keep it short: 10 to 15 minutes, ending on a success. Digraphs stick through repetition over days, not one long sitting.

How to do it

  1. The whisper that starts everything. Finger to your lips, breathe a long shhh, and let your child copy you. "That sound is a reading team. Today we hunt for words hiding it."

    Father and six-year-old son copying each other's shhh whisper pose on the living room rug

  2. Quiet ears. Whisper a mix of words: ship, banana, fish, apple, brush, dinosaur. Your child raises a hand only for the sh words. If they can hear sh, they can find sh.

    Excited boy raising his hand as his mother whispers sh words during a listening game

  3. Mouths in the mirror. In the mirror, make the sh shape together: lips rounded and pushed out, teeth hidden. Compare with a big smiling "ee." Say ship, shop, fish slowly and watch the lips move.

    Girl and her mother making rounded sh mouth shapes together in a small hand mirror

  4. The position sort. Tip the face-down cards on the table. Flip one, read it together, and ask: "Where is the sh — start, middle, or end?" Drop it in the matching basket. This is the real lesson: the same sound sits in different spots.

    Child's small hands sorting blank word cards into three woven baskets for the sh sort

  5. Read round one: sh at the start. Spread the 16 start-cards face-up and take turns reading: ship, shell, shark, shirt, sheep, shop, short, shout, shine, share, shadow, shape, shower, shy, shake, shelf. Star every card your child reads without help.

    Boy reading a blank word card aloud while his father smiles at the kitchen table

  6. Read round two: sh at the end. The 14 end-cards: fish, brush, wash, wish, dish, cash, crash, splash, rush, trash, fresh, bush, blush, crush. Ask which pile felt easier — most kids say the end ones, because sh closes the word like a soft door.

    Girl pressing a gold star sticker onto a blank card for every sh word

  7. Read round three: sh in the middle. The 10 trickiest: dishes, washing, wishing, cushion, finish, mushroom, pushed, ashes, bushes, rushes. Stretch the middle — "cu-shhh-ion" — and clap the syllables first if it helps.

    Mother and daughter clapping syllables together over scattered blank word cards on the rug

  8. Shout or whisper. Shuffle all 40. Your child draws and reads one: sh at the start = whisper the whole word; sh at the end = say it clear and proud; sh in the middle = say it like an echo. The position rule becomes a memory game.

    Boy cupping his hands to whisper a word to stuffed animals on the sofa

  9. Sh-word detective. Open a familiar picture book and hunt for hiding sh words — she, fish, wish, shoe, shop. When your child spots one, they whisper "sh!" and point. Real books are where the pattern pays off. For more listening games, our rhyming words for preschoolers list doubles as sound play.

    Young girl with a magnifying glass hunting for hidden sh words in a picture book

  10. High-five round-up. Line up the three baskets. Your child picks a favorite card from each pile and reads it one last time: "You just read 40 sh words — that is a whole digraph." Sticker, high five, done.

    Mother and son high-fiving over sorting baskets and blank sh-word cards after the game

Make it easier

Play only the 16-card "sh at the start" pile as a first session. Echo-read: you say the word first, your child repeats, then reads the card alone. Skip Step 7 until the start and end piles feel easy. You read the cards while your child does the sorting — sorting is real phonics work too. Not ready for digraphs yet? Start with our CVC words list and come back to sh once those feel easy.

Make it harder

Add ch cards from our digraph activities session and have your child name the digraph in each word. Write each word after reading it — sh in the middle takes real thought to spell. Build a sentence with two sh words: "The shark washes the dishes." Beat-the-clock: how many of the 40 can they read in three minutes, then try again tomorrow. Finish the week with our sight word games — instant-recognition games that keep the 40 words fresh.

Other ways to play it

  • Sh whisper relay: whisper a sh word to the first stuffed animal in a row and pass it down — the last one "says" it aloud.
  • Fishing for sh: lay cards face-down on a blanket "sea"; the rod only catches a card your child reads correctly.
  • Mystery bag: hide sh objects (shell, brush, shirt) in a bag — pull one out, name it, say where the sh sits.

How it changes by age

  • Ages 6–7 (1st grade): the sweet spot — sh arrives in most reading classes in 1st grade, so this lines up with school.
  • Age 8: use the full 40 words plus the "make it harder" spelling round; strong 8-year-olds can hunt sh words in chapter books alone.
  • Under 6: the listening games (Steps 1–2) and the mirror game work now; save the card reading for later.

What they're learning

Phonics: a digraph is two letters making one sound — s and h merge into /ʃ/, as in ship. Word structure: the same letter pair can sit at the start, middle, or end of a word, and its position changes how the word looks and sounds when read. Blending and segmenting: stretching cu-shhh-ion practices pulling a word apart and rebuilding it — our blending sounds activities build the same stretch-and-say skill. Print awareness: spotting sh words in a real book shows the pattern lives outside worksheets.

Clearing up

Card scraps go in recycling; wipe the table if markers smudged it. Rubber-band the three piles separately so tomorrow's session starts ready. Star stickers peel off, so the cards can be reused for other word lists.

Questions parents ask

What are sh words for 1st grade?
Sh words are words containing the sh digraph — s and h teaming up to make one sound, /ʃ/. Good 1st grade sh words include ship, fish, brush, shop, wash, and wish — simple words children already know from everyday life, which is why they work so well for beginning readers.
How many sh words are on this list?
40 sh words, sorted into three groups: 16 with sh at the start (ship, shell, shark), 10 with sh in the middle (dishes, cushion, mushroom), and 14 with sh at the end (fish, brush, splash). Every word was checked to make sure sh genuinely makes the /ʃ/ sound in it.
How do you teach the sh digraph to a 1st grader?
Start with the sound they already know — the bedtime shhh — and play listening games where they raise a hand for sh words. Then sort word cards by where sh sits (start, middle, end) and read the groups aloud. Keep sessions to 10–15 minutes, repeat over several days, and always end with a word they can read confidently.
Why does my child confuse sh and ch?
Sh and ch are the two digraphs children mix up most. Sh is smooth and long (shhh), while ch is punchy and short (ch-ch-ch). Teaching them one at a time — sh first, until it is solid — and playing a "smooth or punchy" sorting game helps separate the two sounds clearly.
What comes after the sh digraph in phonics?
Once sh is fluent, most 1st graders move to the ch digraph, then th and wh. Teach one digraph at a time so the sounds do not blur together, and revisit sh with quick sorting games while the new digraph is being learned.
Are there any trick sh words to avoid?
Yes — words where s and h sit next to each other but keep their separate sounds, like mishap (mis-hap) or dishonor. These are not real sh digraph words, and they confuse beginning readers. This list excludes them; every word here has sh making the single /ʃ/ sound.

Ten to fifteen minutes a day for a week beats one long session — digraphs are a rhythm skill.

If your child reads all 40 in one sitting, do not add more words. Repeat the set with the "make it harder" rounds — fluency comes from rereading, not novelty.

Once sh is solid, the natural next digraph is ch. Teach them one at a time so the two do not blur together. If your child is still sounding out every word, our how to teach a child to read guide is the place to start before the card rounds.

The 40 sh words, grouped by position.

Which sh words start with sh? The 16-word warm-up round: ship, shell, shark, shirt, sheep, shop, short, shout, shine, share, shadow, shape, shower, shy, shake, shelf

Which sh words have sh in the middle? The 10 trickiest — save for last: dishes, washing, wishing, cushion, finish, mushroom, pushed, ashes, bushes, rushes

Which sh words end with sh? The 14 closers — most children read these easiest: fish, brush, wash, wish, dish, cash, crash, splash, rush, trash, fresh, bush, blush, crush

Parent note: every word here uses sh as a genuine digraph — two letters, one /ʃ/ sound. Words where s and h sit next to each other but keep separate sounds (like mishap) are left off, because they confuse beginning readers.

Mother and young daughter giggling through an sh-words whisper game at a sunny kitchen table

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