The ch digraph (as in chef)

All phonics patterns › The ch digraph (as in chef)

What is a consonant digraph?

In a digraph, two letters work together to make a single new sound that neither letter makes on its own. Readers need to be taught explicitly that the pair is one sound, or they will try to blend two.

The ch digraph (as in chef) — word list

Every word below appears in the decodable book on this page, so a reader who practises the list will meet the same words again in context.

• brochure
• chalet
• chef
• machine
• mustache

Free decodable book: Decodable CH (Chef)

This is an original Lumira decodable reader, written so that a child can sound out nearly every word using patterns they have already been taught. The full text is below — read it here, or open it in the app to read it together with the words highlighting as you speak.

How to teach it

1. Say the sound on its own first, several times, before showing any letters.
2. Show the spelling and name it explicitly — tell the reader what it says rather than asking them to work it out.
3. Blend two or three words from the list together, out loud, slowly.
4. Read the decodable book above, where the pattern repeats in real sentences.
5. Come back to it two or three days later. Cumulative review is what makes it stick.

Lessons that practise this pattern

• ch says /sh/ (chef, machine)

  Read ch as /sh/ in French-origin words

Related consonant digraph patterns

• The ch digraph
• The dge digraph
• The ng digraph
• The ph digraph
• The sh digraph
• The tch digraph
• The th digraph
• The wh digraph

Practise this in Lumira