By this point, students know that the digraph 'ch' makes the /ch/ sound. So now it's time to teach another important letter combination that makes the same sound: '-tch', like in hatch and pitch.
Learning to articulate and read '-tch' as the /ch/ sound is much like learning any other sound-letter correspondence. But figuring out when to spell words with '-tch' rather than 'ch' is where this skill gets tricky! For that reason, there's a lot of focus on spelling in this skill explainer.
A student-friendly chant that can help your students remember the '-tch' spelling rule is: "Immediately after a short vowel, at the end of a one-syllable word, spell /ch/ … 't', 'c', 'h'!"
The '-tch' rule is one of four short vowel spelling rules. The other three short vowel rules — FLoSS(Z), '-ck', and '-dge' — each have their own skill explainers. We typically introduce '-ck' and FLoSS(Z) first because they follow a more straightforward pattern. We introduce '-tch' and '-dge' later because they have more exceptions and require more decision making during spelling.
Watch first-grade teacher Lynda Knowles introduce the '-tch' spelling rule to her students at Shull Elementary in San Dimas, California.
Quick Look: A Chant for the '-tch' Rule
Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book
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Lynda Knowles: So we all know that 'c-h' says ...
Ms. Knowles and students: /ch/, /ch/, /ch/ ...
Lynda Knowles: and 't-c-h' is going to say ...
Ms. Knowles and students: /ch/, /ch/, /ch/, /ch/, /ch/.
Lynda Knowles: Now there's a little bit of a difference. Are you ready?
Student: Yeah.
Lynda Knowles: 'c-h' can be at the beginning of a word. It could be in the middle of a word. It could be at the ...
Ms. Knowles and students: end of the word.
Lynda Knowles: 't-c-h' is going to be at the end of a word immediately following a short vowel. In a short word, one syllable word. Okay. Are you ready to do some work? Okay. Go ahead and turn over your papers and let's look at the top. There's a rule at the top. Everyone say "rule."
Students: "Rule."
Lynda Knowles: So put your fingers on the word. You can read it with me.
Ms. Knowles and students: Immediately after a short vowel at the end of a short word, spell /ch/ as 't-c-h'.
Lynda Knowles: Good job. Say good job to your friend.
Students: Good job!
Note: Some educators and programs call '-tch' and '-dge' trigraphs. Just like a digraph is two letters that make one sound, a trigraph is three letters that make one sound.
Reminders on When to Use 'ch' vs. '-tch'
Determining whether to spell with 'ch' or '-tch' requires students to do quite a bit of metacognitive work! Here are some reminders about when to use 'ch' rather than '-tch'.
Students will use 'ch' when the /ch/ sound is:
At the beginning of a word or syllable, like chat or chip.
At the end of a word immediately following 'l' or 'n', like in gulch or pinch. We call 'l' and 'n' "blockers," because they are blocking the short vowel from the /ch/ sound, so the 't' isn't needed!
At the end of a word immediately after an r-controlled vowel or vowel team, like in torch or peach.
After teaching the '-tch' spelling rule and providing students with lots of practice spelling words with '-tch', you'll want to start mixing in words that are spelled with 'ch'. This will give students opportunities to make that spelling decision — '-tch' or 'ch' — based on the sound's position in the word.
Exception to the Rule
The '-tch' rule is generally consistent, but there are four important words that are exceptions: which, rich, much, and such. These words are one-syllable, short vowel words that end with 'ch' — not '-tch.' You can teach these words as irregularly spelled words or rule breakers.
The acronym WoRMS is a fun way for students to remember the four '-tch' exceptions. When they come across one of these four words, they can say, "Worms Alert!" to reinforce the skill.
Connecting the '-tch' Spelling Rule to Other Phonics Skills
The structured literacy approach is systematic and cumulative. That means each time you teach a new phonics skill, you need to consider how it interacts with other skills.
Here are some other phonics skills that connect to the '-tch' spelling rule. You'll want to talk about these interactions explicitly when you come across them.
Multisyllable Words Although '-tch' is usually found in one-syllable words, there are a few words in which '-tch' comes at the end of a syllable in a multisyllable word, including kitchen, hatchet, and satchel. These words do not follow the rules and can be addressed as they come up in later lessons.
Suffixes '-s' and '-es' If students have already learned the suffixes '-s' and '-es', teaching '-tch' is a great time to revisit these suffixes. When making a word that ends in '-tch' (or 'ch') plural, add suffix -es — like in patches and splotches.
