Tch words

How do you teach tch words?

Teach tch with the spelling rule beside ck: after a short vowel, a sound at the end gets extra letters. "Short vowel, right next door? Use tch. Anything else? Use ch." Have the student sort pictures or words into match and lunch, catch and peach. The rule is reliable enough to trust, and the few exceptions are worth listing on a card.

What mistake do students make with tch words?

Students write ch after a short vowel (mach for match), or tch after a consonant (lunctch). Ask two questions in order: "Is the vowel short? Is the /ch/ right after it?" Two yeses mean tch. Reading errors are rare; the t is silent, so the student only needs to see tch as one unit.

Where do tch words come in the sequence?

Tch usually comes after the digraphs and the silent e lessons, in a unit on spelling rules with dge and the -ild, -old patterns. In the sequence we use, the pattern is taught in Lesson 69.

Exceptions worth knowing

Much, such, rich, which and sandwich use ch after a short vowel. Long vowels and vowel teams take ch (peach, coach). Words with a consonant before /ch/ take ch (bench, lunch).

Decodable sentences

Every word in these sentences can be read at Lesson 69 or earlier, or is a heart word taught by then.

• Fetch the match from the kitchen.
• The witch had a big patch on her hat.
• Can you catch the ball?