Ch Digraph Worksheet: The ch Sound (Free Printable PDF)

What’s in the PDF

• Page 1: trace ch and the words chair, chick and beach; circle the pictures with the ch sound; then write ch or sh to finish six picture words.
• Page 2: sort eight words into ch and sh boxes; read three sentences and circle the ch words; then write a ch word for three pictures.
• Page 3: an answer key with every picture name.

Read the instructions aloud for children who are still learning to read. Say each picture name together first.

What is the ch digraph?

In ch, the c and h do not keep their own sounds. They combine to make /ch/, which you hear at the start of chin and chop and at the end of rich and much. After a short vowel, the sound is often spelled tch, as in match.

How to say the ch sound

Put your tongue on the roof of your mouth just behind your teeth, push your lips forward and release the air in one quick burst: /ch/. It is short and you cannot stretch it like /sh/.

Examples

• At the start: chin, chip, chop, chat, cheese, cherry
• At the end: much, such, rich, lunch, bench, beach
• Spelled tch after a short vowel: match, catch, witch, kitchen

How to teach it

Play trains: chug around the room saying “ch-ch-ch, choo-choo!” Then compare /sh/ and /ch/. You can hold /sh/ for a long time, but /ch/ is a quick sneeze. Read chin, chop, chip and much together, sliding a finger under ch as one sound. The fill-in activity on page 1 asks children to choose between ch and sh, which is exactly the decision they will make when spelling.

Common mix-ups

The most common mix-up is with sh. Say pairs like chip and ship, chop and shop, and ask your child which one is the quick sneeze. Also watch out for children writing just c or h for the sound.

Game: Choo-choo train

Line up chairs as train carriages. Your child is the driver. Each time they say a ch word, they add a passenger (a toy) to a carriage. Shout “choo-choo!” when the train is full.

Questions to ask

• Is it a long /sh/ or a short /ch/?
• Where do you hear ch in lunch: at the start or the end?
• Can you find something ch in your bedroom?

Practise next

Try sh digraph, th digraph, ck digraph. Review the hard c on the letter c sound page. Reading CVC words confidently first? See our CVC word worksheets.