18. Endings -nd, -ld, -ch, -tch: hand, gold, bunch, match

The lesson, step by step

1. The pattern

   Words ending in two consonants again: -nd and -ld in No. 30, and in No. 31 the endings -ch and -tch. Say: In "match", the t is silent; tch says the same as ch.

   Also notice: o before ld is long (bold, cold, gold, old) and i before ld is long in "wild".

2. Read the table aloud

   Read the table aloud together, a column at a time. You say a word, your child says it back while pointing to it. Then your child reads a column alone. Some of the words:

   bold, band, hand, end, blend

   pond, cold, gold, land

   bird, herd, such, bunch

   latch, match

3. Spell aloud

   Now the old way: your child looks at a word, then spells it aloud and says it.

   Saym, a, t, c, h, match.

   Go down a column like this. Then cover the column, say a word, and have your child spell it aloud without looking.

4. Read the sentences

   Under the table are short reading lessons that use its words. Your child reads them aloud, pointing to each word. Help with any word not yet learned. Two of them:

   He set a trap for a rat.

   The boy can ride on a sled.

   The book also explains one word for you:

   To filch is to steal.

5. Dictation

   Say each word, use it in a short sentence of your own, and say it again. Your child writes it. Try these: hand, blend, pond, gold, wild, bunch, latch, match.

   Check together against the book. Any word that came out wrong goes on a card for tomorrow.

6. Wrap up

   Your child sorts five words into "says ch" and "says tch, which also sounds ch". It's a trick: they sound the same. Only the spelling is different.