The /ch/ Sound: Jolly Phonics Action, Words and a Worksheet

The ch sound jolly phonics teaches is the one that most often gets tangled up with its two closest neighbors, sh and j. It’s the third sound in Group 6 (y, x, ch, sh, th, th), and most children learn it around age 5, right before moving on to sh itself.

This guide sorts out those mix-ups, covers the mouth position and Jolly Phonics action, gives you real word lists and a free worksheet, and suggests a few short activities. For the full 42-sound teaching order, our Jolly Phonics complete guide lays out where every sound fits.

Ch’s Two Neighbors: /sh/ and /j/

Two sounds regularly get swapped for ch. The first is sh — “chip” and “ship” sound almost identical to an untrained ear, but ch begins with a brief stop of the tongue before the air releases, while sh flows continuously from the start with no stop at all. The second is j, which is ch’s voiced twin: say “chin” and “gin” side by side and notice that your throat buzzes on gin but stays silent on chin — same mouth shape, just voice switched on or off. One more thing to expect: young children often hear the tr in “train” as “chrain,” since the two sounds are genuinely close at the front of an English mouth. That’s a normal stage, not an error to correct harshly.

How to Make the /ch/ Sound

Ch is a voiceless sound made in two parts: first the tongue tip presses up behind the top teeth to stop the air completely, then the lips round slightly as the tongue releases with a short burst of friction — like squeezing a t and a sh together into one quick beat. There’s no voice at all, and the sound should stay short rather than dragged out.

The Jolly Phonics action turns this into a game: children move their arms at their sides like a steam train’s pistons, chugging “ch, ch, ch” as they go faster. A short chant works well as a cue — “the train goes ch, ch, ch, down the track” — sung while arms pump in rhythm. For the full method behind actions like this one, see our guide on how to teach Jolly Phonics step by step.

A Ch Sound Story

Charlie’s father was tidying his office when Charlie wandered in to ask for pocket money for a picnic. Before handing over a single coin, his father wiped down an old chair that hadn’t been touched in months, and a cloud of dust puffed into the air. Charlie, who is allergic to dust, sneezed hard: “chhhh, chhhh!” “What is all this dust, chhhh?” he laughed, rubbing his nose while his father counted out the coins.

Ways to Spell /ch/

At this stage there are two spellings worth teaching: ch, as in chip, chin, chop and lunch, and tch right after a short vowel, as in catch and match. The tch pattern can wait until plain ch feels automatic.

Words With the /ch/ Sound

At the Start

• chip
• chin
• chop
• chair
• cheese
• chest

In the Middle

• kitchen
• teacher
• lunchbox

At the End

• lunch
• rich
• much
• such
• catch
• match

Blending Practice

• ch-i-p → chip
• ch-o-p → chop
• ch-i-n → chin
• l-u-n-ch → lunch
• r-i-ch → rich

Watch-Out Words

“Chef” and “chute” borrow the sh sound instead of ch, and “school” and “chorus” use a hard k sound — all three are French or Greek borrowings that break the usual English pattern, so treat them as sight words for now rather than sounding them out.

Practice Activities

• Sound hunt (2 minutes): spot ch things around the house — a chair, cheese, a chip — and say each word together slowly.
• Sort the spellings (3 minutes): mix ch and sh flashcards and sort into two piles, checking each one aloud.
• Handwriting practice (3 minutes): trace the digraph in a notebook while your child watches the animation below and copies it.

Blend With the Flashcards

Use our Phase 2 and Phase 3 flashcards below (see our note on phonemes and graphemes if the terms are new). Have your child pick out the card making “ch,” then build “chip” card by card, followed by a quick round of dictation: say chip, chop, lunch, rich and catch aloud and have them write each one.

Free Ch Sound Worksheet

Here’s the digraph “ch” tracing worksheet to practice:

Where /ch/ Sits in the Sequence

Ch is the third sound in Group 6. Most children arrive here just after the /oo/ sound (as in moon), and move on next to the /sh/ sound, its closest cousin.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Jolly Phonics action for ch?

Children move their arms at their sides like a steam train’s pistons, chanting “ch, ch, ch” as the pretend train picks up speed.

How do I tell ch and j apart?

They use the exact same mouth shape; the only difference is voice. Say “chin” then “gin” with a hand on your throat — you’ll feel a buzz on gin but nothing on chin.

Why does ch sometimes sound like sh, as in chef?

Words like chef and chute were borrowed from French, which uses ch for the /sh/ sound. They’re exceptions best learned as sight words rather than sounded out.

What age do children learn the ch sound?

Around age 5, as the third sound in Jolly Phonics Group 6, typically just before sh.