PRIMARY SPELLING & PHONICS • GRADE 2–3 PHONICS • DIGRAPHS • UNMARKED CH /tʃ/ STUDENT WORKSHEET • PAGE 1 OF 2

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Consonant Digraph Clinic • The Voiceless Affricate /tʃ/

In Wheeler's orthoepic system, the consonant digraph ch when unmarked represents its primary English sound: the voiceless affricate /tʃ/ heard in chair, chest, church, rich.

12 Target Words: chair, chest, child, chin, chop, church, cheek, march, birch, porch, rich, such. Contrast with marked c̅h = /k/ (chorus) and çh = /ʃ/ (chaise).

Positional Phonics Sorting • Initial vs. Terminal CH (/tʃ/)

Classify the 12 target words by the position of the ch digraph:

Initial [ch-]: chair, chest, child, chin, chop, cheek

Terminal [-ch]: march, birch, porch, rich, such

Both Initial & Terminal [ch...ch]: church

Penmanship & Diacritical Observation • 26px Track

Write each word neatly. Notice that ch receives no diacritical mark:

chair chest child church birch rich

Contextual Sentences • Application

Fill each blank with the appropriate ch vocabulary word:

1. The kind old grandmother sat in her rocking ____________ on the ____________.

2. The white ____________ tree grew beside the ancient stone ____________.

Wheeler's Orthoepic Rules • The Digraph CH

1. 1. Unmarked English CH (/tʃ/): The native English sound of ch is an affricate formed by combining /t/ and /ʃ/. It is left unmarked in Wheeler because it is the primary sound of the digraph.

2. 2. Terminal -ch vs. -tch: After a single short vowel, the sound /tʃ/ is spelled -tch (catch, pitch, notch). After a consonant, long vowel, or vowel digraph, write -ch (birch, porch, beech).

3. 3. Irregular Vowel in Child: In child, the vowel i is long (/aɪ/) before the consonant cluster -ld, whereas in the plural children, it shortens to /ɪ/.