ch sound quiz

           Say baby chicks and chicken.            
Do you hear that ch sound
at the start of chicks and chickens? You do not
hear the ch sound anywhere in the word rooster.

Chair and cheese use the most common sound for ch. Ch can also use the k sound you hear in anchor and echo. A few ch words use the sh sound as in Chicago and charade.

Early readers need to start with ch as chair since it is the most often seen by them. Letters c and h drop their standard sounds and melt together to make a special sound.

Ask your student to point to each word as you read it; your student can repeat the word after you. Tell each other sentences using each word:

chair        chin        cheek         cherry

chain       chili         cheer         chick

chase      chirp       cheese      chicken


When you are reading stories together, look for ch at the start, middle, and end of words.
Do not assume your child sees something if you do not bring it to his attention - ask him to point to the ch word and try to read the ch word. Tell him the word after two tries.

Let's look at words that use ch at the end. Ask your child to point as you read, let your child repeat the word with you. Notice this is a rhyming word family:

each        reach     beach      speech

peach      teach     bleach     leech

Let's try:
match    patch     catch        latch

batch     hatch     scratch     attach

Let your child try this quiz. He should tell you yes if the word will have a ch sound; no, if not:

1. chat              yes    or   no
2. chimney       yes  or   no
3. chipmunk     yes   or   no
4. check     yes   or    no
5. each       yes   or   no
6. pinch      yes   or   no
7. shell       yes   or   no
8. pitcher   yes   or   no

You may want to look through the list of lessons on the right side of this blog. You may also like to see the books I have to strengthen your reader.  I now use ebay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all my books will pop up for you to consider.

You may have seen the recently published test results showing that less than 50% of our children are successfully connecting vocabulary to comprehension. All of my books, from Kindergarten forward, focus upon this essential part of the reading puzzle by teaching my own easy, special method.

Answers: 1. yes, 2. yes, 3. yes, 4. yes, 5. yes, 6. yes, 7. no, sh as in shell, ship, 8. yes - if your child correctly thought pitcher used the ch sound - celebrate and give him a treat!! If he correctly said the word, pitcher; ask him how he did it!

Remember to watch for ch words as you read stories together! Mary Maisner

sh wh th ch digraphs

Say fish. Can you hear the sh sound at the end of fish?
Can you think of a letter in the ABCs that makes
that sh sound? No, so a special team had to be created.

There are many consonant blends. Each letter keeps its own sound and blends with other consonants: bl black, br brick, cl clock, cr crack, sn sneeze, sm small, etc.

There are only six digraph teams. The letters drop their standard sounds and melt together to make a special sound. Sh shoe, wh what,  th thorn, ch cheese, ph photo, gh laugh. 

Let's try sh. Ask your student to point to each word as you read the list. Say the words together. Ask your child to point to the letters that make the sh sound. Ask your student to read the words to you and use each word in a sentence.

she         shell        shack       shadow       shoe        shimmer        shiver

Now, try those same steps with words that end with sh:

fish                wish               bash            cash            dash           mash        splash 

   
dish            squish               rash            crash           lash           smash        trash

Let's try wh with the same steps:

whale     whip     whistle   whisper    what     when   where     whether  which   why    

Rule: when o comes after wh, the w is silent: who, who's,  whose, whom, whole

Let's try th words with the same steps:

thorn    thimble   thread   the    there    these   those   them   them   this   that   thin  thick

And, at the end:    tooth      teeth   

Let's try ch with the same steps:

cheese    chip     chipmunk     chill      chili   child   children    chase     choose (zoo)    chose

 

at the end: peach     beach      reach    teach    inch     pinch   trench   gulch    search

_________ 3rd Grade lessons: 

Ph always says f: photograph   graph     phone     telephone    triumph

Gh says f: laugh  enough   cough   tough   rough   slough (A snake sloughs its skin.)  

Gh is a silent team: bright, delight, fight, flight, fright, height, knight, night, light, might, right, sight, slight, tight.

Also: bought, brought, caught, fought, sought, taught, thought // though, although, thorough  

 

Realize that children are learning these lessons at the same time they are also learning to control the tiny muscles in their tongues. Expect that learning to read these special teams sh, wh, th, ch, and consonant blends will take repetition.

I use eBay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help all of my books will pop up for you.
My books blend the tricky phonics with sight words and a special comprehension method, all come with my contact info; email or call me.

Write with any questions, Have a great day, Mary Maisner

tient cient say shunt

Tient, cient say shunt as in patient, sufficient. 
Only a handful of words use these letter teams, however this set of words are seen often; so, learning them makes reading much easier.

Is it a waste of your energy to stumble over words you are going to see over and over?

Yes, it is a waste of your energy. It is much more efficient to be smart with tient, cient.

Since tient, cient are long letter blocks, once you know that they say shunt - you have sounded out most of the word. Try:

patient     impatient          efficient    inefficient        deficient           sufficient    

Knowing what a word means can help you remember the word, and might help you learn to spell it. Which would you suppose is the meaning of efficient:  good effect   or   ever shiny

Now that you know it means good effect, spelling it will be easy; add the eff  to  icient. Tell yourself three sentences using the word efficient. Can you spell it?

What does inefficient mean?   Let these examples help you,  indirect: not direct;

incorrect: not correct;    invisible: not visible.

Now, make a choice about the meaning of inefficient:  not available   or  not the best effect

Try this sentence: A plump, sweet seal will probably be sufficient to remove the polar bear's hunger. 

What would be a good choice for the meaning of sufficient?   sharp   or   enough to satisfy

Sufficient has a short word, suffice, say su fis, meaning to be enough to satisfy the need. How would you use the word suffice to help you spell sufficient? _______________

Now, the meaning of insufficient should be easy for you. Which would you choose: 
not soft enough     or    not enough to satisfy the need

Is it easier than you thought to become an efficient reader?    yes    no

Answers: efficient: good effect; inefficient: not a good effect;  sufficient: enough to satisfy, from the word suffice;   insufficient: not enough to meet the need, not enough to satisfy the need

I use eBay as my website. Search Instant Reading Help tion, tious.  Or Instant Reading Help plus your child's grade level.

All books teach an easy comprehension method and the tricky phonics are in bold print: ge, gi, gy, tion, tious, tience, etc. Tons of special lessons, plus all complex vowel combinations.

Help your reader feel powerful with words! Mary Maisner