LumiraWhat is a consonant digraph?
In a digraph, two letters work together to make a single new sound that neither letter makes on its own. Readers need to be taught explicitly that the pair is one sound, or they will try to blend two.
The dge digraph — word list
Every word below appears in the decodable book on this page, so a reader who practises the list will meet the same words again in context.
- badge
- bridge
- budge
- dodge
- edge
- fudge
- hedge
- judge
- lodge
- nudge
- ridge
- wedge
Free decodable book: Decodable DGE Ending
This is an original Lumira decodable reader, written so that a child can sound out nearly every word using patterns they have already been taught. The full text is below — read it here, or open it in the app to read it together with the words highlighting as you speak.
Mia sat at the edge. Leo sat at the edge too.
Leo was at the bridge. Mia was at the bridge too.
Mia had fudge. Leo had fudge too. Mia and Leo had fudge.
Leo had a badge. Mia had a badge too. They like it.
Mia and Leo did not budge. They sat at the hedge.
Edge bridge judge fudge badge ridge lodge dodge budge nudge wedge.
How to teach it
- Say the sound on its own first, several times, before showing any letters.
- Show the spelling and name it explicitly — tell the reader what it says rather than asking them to work it out.
- Blend two or three words from the list together, out loud, slowly.
- Read the decodable book above, where the pattern repeats in real sentences.
- Come back to it two or three days later. Cumulative review is what makes it stick.
Lessons that practise this pattern
dge ending
Read dge as /j/ right after a short vowel