Make CHristmas CHains and Learn Phonogram CH   

December is the time for giving. How about giving the gift of learning to read with phonogram-specific instruction? We are dedicated to providing you with FUN and engaging activities for teaching phonics. Today we would like to share an idea for teaching the ‘ch’ phonogram by making CHristmas CHains.

First, teach the song and hand gestures for the ‘ch’ phonogram:

I pound my chest, rub my stomach, and wipe my milk mustache.
Ch makes three sounds /ch/ /k/ /sh/.

There are specific steps that we recommend to teach each phonogram with our book ABCs of the Sounds We Read. You can refer to these steps from our previous blog here. 

"Each year my children love making Christmas chains. This project is so simple yet so engaging for children."

Each year my children love making Christmas chains. This project is so simple yet so engaging for children. All you need are several strips of paper and a glue stick! I’m sure you have seen colorful paper chains adorning a Christmas tree. Maybe you have seen 25 chain links where children tear off one link a day as a countdown to Christmas.

Just follow the simple steps below to make these Christmas chains.

• Grab your paper, scissors and glue stick. You can use colorful construction paper or decorative scrapbook paper.

• Cut the paper in one inch strips.

• Dab glue on one end of strip, form a circle, and adhere to the other end of the strip.

• For the second link, stick the next strip through the center of the first link before gluing the ends together.

• Continue in this manner to connect more links.

  

  Here is the extension to incorporate phonetic instruction.

  In my first grade classroom I sent my children on a phonogram hunt after learning the song and ditty. Children searched for the ‘ch’ phonogram around the classroom and in books. They wrote a word with the ‘ch’ phonogram on each strip of paper before linking them together.

  
  

  Challenge children to take this one step further. In this variation, children create three chains; one for each of the three different sounds for ‘ch.’

  • You can give children a variety of ‘ch’ words to use.

  • Children then have to match up the words with the same sound of ‘ch’ before making the three different chains.

  • Finally, children can compare the length of the chains. Do you see the correlation between the most common sound of the phonogram /ch/, the second sound /k/, and the third sound /sh/?

  
  

  Deck the halls with these Christmas chains this year! From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!