Recognising 'ch' Sound

Learning Objective

• To correctly recognise and spell words containing the common 'ch' sound.
• To use these words accurately within sentences.

Success Criteria

• I can read aloud words that contain the ‘ch’ sound confidently.
• I can identify and pronounce the ‘ch’ sound in different words.
• I can write each ‘ch’ word three times using neat, joined handwriting.
• I can write sentences using tricky ‘ch’ words accurately.

National Curriculum Link

• English Programme of Study: Year 6 Spelling (Statutory)
  • Pupils should be taught to spell some words with silent letters (for example, the ‘k’ in knee).
  • Pupils should use further prefixes and suffixes and understand how to add them (English Appendix 1).
  • Pupils should continue to distinguish between homophones and other words that are often confused.
  • Spell words containing the ‘ch’ grapheme correctly, recognising it as a common consonant digraph (English Appendix 1).
• Handwriting:
  • Pupils should use the diagonal and horizontal strokes that are needed to join letters and understand which letters, when adjacent to one another, are best left unjoined.

Key Vocabulary

• Consonant digraph
• Pronunciation
• Tricky words
• Joined handwriting
• Homophones
• Grapheme

Prior Knowledge and Experience

• Pupils will have previously encountered common consonant digraphs like 'sh' and 'th'.
• They will be familiar with the notion of spelling patterns and tricky words from earlier year groups.
• Pupils will have experience forming letters using joined handwriting.
• Prior exposure to reading and writing sentences with common spelling patterns.

Resources to Prepare

• Prepared slides with a list of words containing the ‘ch’ sound (e.g., chair, cheese, church, children, chicken, chocolate).
• Whiteboards and pens for whole-class and individual pronunciation practice.
• Exercise books/notebooks for neat handwriting practice.
• A word bank with tricky ‘ch’ words for sentence writing.
• Visual aid: mouth posture chart to show how to pronounce the ‘ch’ sound.
• Timer or stopwatch to keep activity pacing on track.
• Cards with ‘ch’ words for phonics game and relay race.
• Sentence strips or word cards for sentence-building challenge.

Common Misconceptions

• Confusing ‘ch’ with similar sounds such as ‘sh’ or ‘tch’.
• Not pronouncing the ‘ch’ sound correctly, leading to incorrect oral spelling.
• Writing ‘ch’ words with incorrect letter order or mixing up ‘ch’ with ‘k’ or ‘c’ sounds.
• Difficulty in joining letters neatly or inconsistent letter size and spacing.
• Confusing homophones that contain ‘ch’ but sound very similar (e.g., ‘choir’).

Adaptive Teaching Approaches

• Use of multisensory learning: auditory (hearing the ‘ch’ sound clearly), visual (seeing words and mouth posture), and kinaesthetic (writing the words repeatedly).
• Provide sound boxes or phoneme frames for pupils who need additional support segmenting the ‘ch’ sound.
• Pair higher ability pupils with peers who may need more support to scaffold pronunciation and sentence formation.
• For pupils with fine motor difficulties, provide lined or grapheme handwriting sheets to guide letter formation.
• Challenge more able pupils by asking them to create longer sentences or include multiple ‘ch’ words within one sentence.

Lesson Structure and Assessment for Learning

Time	Activity	AFL Opportunities
0-3 Minutes	Warm-up Phonics Game: ‘Ch’ Sound Snap: Pupils play a quick card game in small groups where they match pairs of words containing the ‘ch’ sound. This energizes pupils and reinforces recognition.	Teacher circulates to listen for correct pronunciation and word recognition, providing immediate feedback. Use cold-calling to ask pupils to say words aloud.
3-8 Minutes	Paired Reading Activity: Pupils work in pairs to read aloud the prepared list of ‘ch’ words from slides. Partners take turns reading and correcting each other’s pronunciation, using the mouth posture visual as a guide.	Teacher listens to pairs, noting pronunciation accuracy and providing targeted support. Use thumbs-up/down signals from pairs to self-assess confidence.
8-15 Minutes	Handwriting Relay Race: Pupils form small teams. Each team member writes one ‘ch’ word neatly and joined on the board or large paper before tagging the next teammate. The race continues until all words are written three times collectively.	Teacher monitors handwriting quality and spelling accuracy in real time, giving praise and corrective feedback. Encourage self and peer assessment of letter formation.
15-20 Minutes	Creative Sentence-Building Challenge: Using the word bank, pupils individually write sentences incorporating tricky ‘ch’ words. Then, in small groups, they combine their sentences to create a short story or paragraph featuring multiple ‘ch’ words. Pupils read their creations aloud.	Peer-assessment during group reading focuses on correct usage and pronunciation of ‘ch’ words. Teacher reviews samples, providing verbal feedback and encouraging extension for higher ability pupils.

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This tight, targeted lesson maximises a 20-minute window, ensuring pupils gain hands-on, multisensory spelling practice in line with the National Curriculum standards for Year 6. The active pronunciation and writing elements embed phonics with handwriting skills, culminating in meaningful sentence use that connects learning to real language application.