Ch words that sound like k

How do you teach ch words that say /k/?

Wait until the student reads ch as /ch/ without hesitating. Then show the exception group as a family with a story. "These words came to English from Greek. In Greek this was one letter that sounded like /k/, so we spell it ch." Read school, echo, stomach, chorus. If ch /ch/ doesn't make a real word, try /k/. That flexing habit is worth more than memorizing a list.

What mistake do students make with ch words that say /k/?

A student who learned ch as /ch/ will read chorus as /chorus/. That is a good error: it shows they know the main sound. Praise it, then prompt the flex. "Good try with /ch/. Is that a word? Try /k/." Spelling is harder, because nothing in the sound tells you to write ch. Group words by topic, such as school and science words.

Where do ch words that say /k/ come in the sequence?

Ch /k/ is taught late, usually with other less common spellings, after vowel teams and r-controlled vowels. Many students meet school much earlier and learn it as a heart word first. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 118.

Exceptions worth knowing

The ch in ache and stomach is /k/ at the end of a word, which is rare. Words built on chrom, chron and psych keep the /k/ (chrome, chronic). Arch says /ch/ in archway but /k/ in archive.

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 118 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

• The school band sang in the hall.
• We could hear an echo in the cave.
• Mom has a pain in her stomach.