/ch/ Medial — Spelling
Articulation · Grades 1–4 · 12 cards
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Have the child say the word, then split it aloud into syllables, then build it. Kit-chen and ket-chup both put the digraph across a syllable break, which is exactly the structure that makes multisyllabic spelling hard, and naming it helps. Keep asking for the production between letters — the spelling should not become the whole activity when the sound is the target.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentAfter building each word, the student says it aloud. Wait 3 seconds.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for /ch/, before the student tries again.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
- Placement cueLips rounded, tongue tip and front of the tongue up on the ridge behind your top teeth. Hold, then let go into a short /sh/.Log as cued
Adjust it
Drop to syllables ('cha' and 'chee'), or use fewer cards.
Put each word in a short carrier phrase with no /ch/ in it or mix in /ch/ words from another position.
Matching IEP goal
Given word cards, Student will produce /ch/ in the word-medial position in single words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
The twelve medial /ch/ words — teacher, kitchen, ketchup, matches, peaches, catcher, pitcher, watching, hatching, lunches, benches, munching — as a spelling task. Derived from the flashcard deck, and useful for a slightly different reason: every word here is two syllables, so building it letter by letter also builds the syllable structure a student needs for reading longer words.
What to listen for
Watch for the tch spelling in kitchen, ketchup, matches, catcher, pitcher and watching, all of which follow a short vowel. Peaches and teacher use plain ch after a long vowel sound. That is a consistent pattern and a student who spots it has something that works beyond these twelve words. Listen for the sound holding up while attention is on the letters.
Carrying it home
Ask for one word spelled aloud rather than written — teacher or kitchen — while doing something else. It takes seconds and keeps the sound and the letters attached to each other.
What's in this activity
- teacher
- kitchen
- ketchup
- matches
- peaches
- catcher
- pitcher
- watching
- hatching
- lunches
- benches
- munching
Questions
- How does this differ from the flashcards?
- Same twelve words; this version asks the student to build each one from letters. It gives fewer productions per minute and adds an orthographic layer.
- Do I need an account?
- No, it plays free in the browser.
- Why do so many of these use tch?
- Because the vowel before it is short — kitchen, matches, catcher. After a long vowel sound, as in teacher and peaches, the spelling is plain ch.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.