Teaching the CH Digraph in Australian Primary Schools
ch has three sounds in English: /tsh/ in chair, /k/ in school, and /sh/ in chef. Each is predictable from word origin. Teach them in sequence with Australian audio.
Used by teachers in NSW · VIC · QLD · WA · SA · ACT
The phonics concept
Understanding the CH Digraph
ch is one of the most versatile digraphs in English, representing three different phonemes depending on the word's language of origin. Rather than presenting this as irregular, a sequenced teaching approach introduces each sound at the appropriate year level alongside the relevant word families and etymological context.
Three sounds: /tsh/, /k/, and /sh/
The digraph ch has three phonemic realisations in English. The Anglo-Saxon /tsh/ sound (chair, child, church) is the most common and should be taught first, at Foundation to Year 1. The Greek /k/ sound (school, Christmas, character) is introduced at Year 2-3 alongside Greek-origin vocabulary instruction. The French /sh/ sound (chef, machine, champagne) is taught at Year 4 or later. Each sound is predictable from etymological origin, giving teachers a principled and sequenced teaching programme rather than presenting ch as irregularly variable.
tch vs ch: the short-vowel rule
The spelling choice between tch and ch for the /tsh/ phoneme follows a reliable rule: use tch immediately after a short vowel (catch, fetch, itch, notch, hutch). Use ch in all other positions: at word beginnings (chip, chair), after a consonant (bench, lunch), and after a long vowel (beach, teach, roach). This rule has very few exceptions in common words. Students who learn it explicitly can apply it to novel words without guessing, which significantly improves spelling accuracy for the /tsh/ phoneme from Year 1 onwards.
ch = /k/ in Greek-origin words
The /k/ ch pattern appears in words of Greek origin, most often before l or r at the beginning of a word (Christmas, chrome, chlorine) or in words connected to Greek academic roots (school from Greek skhole, echo from Greek ekho). Teaching this pattern alongside Greek word families such as chron (time), chrom (colour), and chem (chemistry) gives students the etymological context that makes the unusual pronunciation predictable rather than arbitrary. From Year 2 onwards, students who understand that Greek-origin words use /k/ for ch become faster and more confident decoders of science and history vocabulary.
ch = /sh/ in French loanwords
When ch makes the /sh/ sound, the word is almost always a French loanword. Chef, machine, champagne, charade, and chalet all retain the French pronunciation of ch as /sh/. This pattern appears most frequently in upper-primary vocabulary related to food, fashion, and culture. Contextual knowledge of French borrowings helps students decode these words reliably. Teaching the French connection also builds cross-linguistic awareness that supports language study and vocabulary acquisition in the upper primary years.
Teaching sequence
The Three CH Sounds by Year Level
Introduce each ch sound at the year level where its word family becomes relevant. This prevents cognitive overload while ensuring students have the knowledge they need when they encounter each pattern in authentic texts.
/tsh/
Anglo-Saxon origin • Foundation-Year 1
/k/
Greek origin • Year 2-3
/sh/
French origin • Year 4+
Practice modes
How SoundSnapp Supports CH Digraph Teaching
See & Tap Mode
Whole-class ch digraph work on the board. Students tap each phoneme tile in sequence. For ch words, the tap produces the correct phoneme in Australian-accented audio — /tsh/ for chair, /k/ for school, /sh/ for chef. No logins, any device, free forever.
- All three ch sounds with correct Australian audio
- tch vs ch minimal pair contrasting
- Anglo-Saxon, Greek, and French word sets
- No logins or setup required
- Free forever
Assessment Mode
Tracks which ch sound each student has secured. Surfaces students who apply the /tsh/ rule to Greek-origin ch words (reading school as /tshool/) before those errors compound into Year 3 content-area reading difficulties.
- Per-student ch sound tracking
- Distinguishes /tsh/, /k/, and /sh/ errors
- tch rule application monitoring
- Progress data across sessions
- 7-day free trial
Pricing
Free to Start, School Licence for Tracking
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Whiteboard Mode
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- Whiteboard Mode for whole-class teaching
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- Foundation-Year 6 practice sets
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Questions & answers
Frequently Asked Questions
How many sounds does ch make in English?
The digraph ch represents three distinct phonemes in English, depending on the word's language of origin. The most common is the Anglo-Saxon /tsh/ sound, heard in words such as chair, child, church, chip, and chop. This is the sound most children learn first and the one they use in everyday conversation. The second is the Greek /k/ sound, heard in words such as school, Christmas, character, chrome, and chlorine. These are predominantly Greek-origin words where ch was borrowed with its original hard-consonant sound. The third is the French /sh/ sound, heard in loanwords such as chef, machine, champagne, and charade. Each sound is predictable from the word's language of origin, which gives teachers a principled teaching sequence rather than presenting ch as unpredictably variable.
When should I use tch versus ch?
The tch spelling is used immediately after a short vowel in a single-syllable word. The pattern is consistent: catch (short /a/), fetch (short /e/), itch (short /i/), notch (short /o/), and hutch (short /u/) all use tch because a short vowel immediately precedes the /tsh/ phoneme. The ch spelling is used in all other positions: at the beginning of words (chair, chip), after a consonant (bench, lunch, which), after a long vowel (beach, teach, roach), and in multisyllabic words (kitchen, teacher). The tch vs ch distinction is a reliable spelling rule with very few exceptions, making it a teachable pattern once students have secured short-vowel knowledge.
How do I teach the /k/ ch pattern to my students?
The /k/ ch pattern is best introduced at Year 2-3 when students begin encountering Greek-origin vocabulary in science and history. The most reliable contextual clue is word position: ch representing /k/ almost always occurs before l or r at the beginning of Greek-origin words (Christmas, chrome, chlorine, chronicle). It also appears in Greek-derived words where ch follows a vowel (school, echo, ache). Teaching students to ask whether a word feels like it might be Greek or scientific is a useful but informal strategy; a more robust approach connects the /k/ ch pattern explicitly to word families such as chron (time: chronology, chronicle), chrom (colour: chrome, chromosome), and chem (chemistry, chemical). Explicit instruction with examples is more effective than hoping students will infer the pattern from reading alone.
Why does ch sometimes sound like /sh/?
When ch sounds like /sh/ (as in chef, machine, and champagne), the word is almost always a French loanword. French, like English, uses ch as a digraph, but in French it represents /sh/ rather than /tsh/. When English borrowed these French words, it often preserved the original French pronunciation. Upper-primary students encounter French-origin ch words in food vocabulary (chef, choux, charlotte), fashion and culture (chic, charade), and music (chanson). Teaching the French connection contextualises the apparently irregular pronunciation and builds the cross-linguistic awareness that supports vocabulary learning across language subjects. The /sh/ ch pattern is not introduced until Year 4 or later in most Australian scope and sequences, after the /tsh/ and /k/ patterns are secure.
Give your Foundation–Year 5 students a complete ch digraph programme with Australian audio.
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