WH Digraph: the sound, the words, the books

Whale, wheel, whisk, whistle — WH words. Five decodable stories and twenty flashcards, each child’s copy starring that child. This guide maps the pack onto the components of systematic, explicit early-literacy instruction (the ones Wisconsin’s 2023 Act 20 names: phonemic awareness, phonics and decoding, letter–sound knowledge, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension).

1. The sound

Target: WH Digraph. Spellings tinted in the books: wh. Say the sound in isolation, then in the twenty words, then find it in the captions.

2. The words

Sight words used in the captions: a, the, has, in, on, and, to, is.

3. Phonemic awareness (5 minutes)

• Blend: say the sounds of a pack word slowly; children say the word.
• Segment: say a word; children tap out its sounds.
• Swap: change one sound (cat → hat → hot) with the flashcards face down.

4. Decoding with the flashcards (5 minutes)

• Picture side up: name it, find the tinted sound, say the word.
• Word side up: sound out, blend, check with the picture.
• Speed round: the child reads the word side of ten cards as fast as accuracy allows.

5. The stories (10 minutes each)

1. “the child’s name and the Whale” — [NAME] is out on a boat with Dad to see a whale, but the sea is empty. The wind whips, the waves go white, the whistle gets no answer, so [NAME] tries a whisper instead. Then whoosh: a whale blows right beside the boat and soaks them both. It flips its tail, and [NAME] waves goodbye. (10 pages; uses whale, wheel, whisper, white, whistle, whip, where, when, whoosh; with Dad)
2. “the child’s name Can Whisk” — Gran is making wheat buns and [NAME], in a white hat, does the whisking. The whisk whirls too fast and splats mix on [NAME]'s nose; then comes the hardest part, waiting while the whiff fills the kitchen. [NAME] eats a whole bun, keeps one for Gran, and the cat's whiskers are kept out of the rest. (10 pages; uses white, wheat, whip, whisk, whirl, whisker, whole, when, which, whiff, whoosh; with Gran)
3. “Where Is the Cat?” — [NAME]'s cat with the long white whiskers is missing. Not in the bed, not answering a whisper; the pup whines, and whirls at [NAME]'s whistle. Then a whiff of fish leads to the shed, where the whiskers poke out from behind a whole fish the cat has found. Purrs and a hug. (10 pages; uses whisper, white, whistle, whirl, whisker, whole, where, whine, whiff)
4. “the child’s name and Pal Race” — Pal has a wheelchair with two big wheels, and at the park [NAME] and Pal race. When Dad whistles they are off: wheels whirl, [NAME] runs and puffs, then trips and loses a shoe. Pal whirls back with it, they zoom to the white line together, and it is a tie. (10 pages; uses wheel, white, whistle, while, whirl, when, which, whoosh, wheelchair; with Pal and Dad)
5. “the child’s name and the Whiteboard” — In class, [NAME] draws a huge whale on the whiteboard and the class whispers wow. When the whistle goes for play time [NAME] has to leave it, and comes back to a white, wiped board. But a pal has a pen, and the whole class helps make a new whale, the best one yet. (10 pages; uses whale, whisper, white, whistle, whole, where, when, whine, whiteboard)

First read: the child decodes every word; wait, do not rush in. Second read: fluency, with expression. Then talk about the pictures in any language the child has.

6. Checking progress

• Accuracy: words read correctly on the first pass of a story (aim for 95%+ before the next pack).
• Letter–sound knowledge: the tinted spellings named in isolation.
• Comprehension: retell the story in three sentences; the pictures are the prompt.
• Engagement: how many re-reads the child asks for. Personalised books are re-read more; count it.

7. Families

Send the flashcards home; the word side is a two-minute routine.

Story Petal books are generated by an image model from instructions we write, checked by a person, and never used to train anything beyond a child’s own order. What our art must get right.