CH phonics worksheets

ch makes a sharp, bouncy sound — /ch/, as in chip, chop and lunch. Like a train chugging along: ch, ch, ch. This free printable helps children spot it, read it and write it.

One page. Find-and-circle, read-aloud and tracing for the ch sound.

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What's on the sheet

Activity 1 — Find and circle. Twelve words in a grid; the child circles the words containing ch (chip, chop, chin, check, rich, much, lunch, beach) among look-alike distractors.

Activity 2 — Read aloud. Five featured ch words, each with a colorable dot beneath — the child reads each one and colors the dot.

Activity 3 — Trace. Six traces of ch across the page, the first solid, the rest light grey.

Parent note. A short tip on the /ch/ sound and the train-chugging cue.

How to teach the /ch/ sound

ch is two letters but one sound — a sharp burst you can't hold. Unlike /sh/, which flows (shhh), /ch/ stops the moment it starts. The teaching steps:

• Introduce the cue. Play the train game: ch, ch, ch, ch. The sound pops — children love making it and the physical sensation is memorable.
• Contrast with sh. Say ship / chip and shop / chop slowly. One flows, one stops. Ask them which is which.
• Find it at the start AND end of words. Chip starts with /ch/; lunch ends with it. Both patterns are on the sheet.

When this is the right level

Use this if:

• Your child reads CVC words confidently
• They know their single letter sounds
• They're meeting digraphs in reading (ages 5–7)

Skip this if:

• They're still learning single letter sounds — start with the Magic 7 set
• They already read multi-syllable words — move on to long vowels

Related resources

• Consonant digraph worksheets — the full sh, ch, th, ng and ck hub
• SH phonics worksheets
• TH phonics worksheets
• CK phonics worksheets
• CVC words worksheets

Common questions

ch or sh — how do I help my child hear the difference?

sh stretches — shhh. ch pops — you cannot hold it. Say ship/chip and shop/chop in pairs and ask which one "pops". The contrast is usually clear after a few tries.

Why does ch sound different in "school"?

A few words spell /k/ with ch — school, ache, chorus. These are exceptions borrowed from Greek and Latin. Keep to common /ch/ words now and treat the exceptions later.

Are these worksheets free?

Yes — free for personal, classroom and homeschool use.