Circle the Sound worksheet for identifying "ch" and "sh" sounds with illustrated objects.

This is a “Circle the Sound” phonics worksheet designed to help children distinguish between the “ch” and “sh” sounds — two common consonant digraphs in English.

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🎯 Goal:

For each picture, listen to or think of the word it represents, then circle “ch” or “sh” depending on which sound starts the word.

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## ✔ Step-by-Step Solution:

Let’s go through each image one by one:

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1. Cheese

- Word: cheese
- Sound: /ch/ (as in “church”)
- ✔ Circle: ch

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2. Clock

- Word: clock
- Sound: /k/ — but wait! This is tricky.
- The word “clock” starts with a “c”, not “ch” or “sh”.
- However, this may be an error in the worksheet OR perhaps it’s meant to be “watch”? But it clearly shows a clock.
- Since “clock” does NOT start with “ch” or “sh”, this might be a misprint.
- ⚠️ Note: In many early phonics worksheets, sometimes images are chosen that don’t perfectly match — but here, “clock” doesn’t begin with either sound.
- If forced to choose based on closest sound? Still neither. Best to leave blank or flag as incorrect.

> 💡 Correction Suggestion: This image might have been intended to be “chef” (ch) or “ship” (sh). But as-is, it doesn't fit.

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3. Ship

- Word: ship
- Sound: /sh/ (as in “shoe”)
- ✔ Circle: sh

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4. Girl with pom-poms (cheerleader)

- Word: cheerleader → starts with “ch”
- Sound: /ch/ (as in “cheer”)
- ✔ Circle: ch

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5. Bowl of soup (with spoon)

- Word: soup — starts with “s”
- Again, not “ch” or “sh”.
- Maybe intended to be “chowder”? But image shows generic soup.
- ⚠️ Another mismatch.

> 💡 Possibly meant to be “chili” or “shrimp soup”? As drawn, it doesn’t clearly match either.

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6. Shoe

- Word: shoe
- Sound: /sh/ (as in “sheep”)
- ✔ Circle: sh

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7. Fish

- Word: fish
- Sound: /sh/ (in “fish”, the “sh” sound is at the end — but we’re looking for the starting sound!)
- Wait — “fish” starts with /f/!
- So again, not “ch” or “sh”.
- ⚠️ Common mistake — kids might say “sh” because of the ending, but the first sound is /f/.

> 💡 Probably meant to be “shark” or “shell” — but it’s clearly a fish.

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8. Trash can

- Word: trash can → “trash” starts with /tr/, not “ch” or “sh”
- Again, mismatch.
- Maybe meant to be “shoebox” or “chair”? Doesn’t fit.

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9. Lunch tray (with sandwich, milk, etc.)

- Word: lunch
- Sound: /ch/ (as in “lunch”)
- ✔ Circle: ch

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10. Shark

- Word: shark
- Sound: /sh/ (as in “shoe”)
- ✔ Circle: sh

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## 🧾 Final Answer Key (for correct matches):

| Image # | Picture | Correct Sound |
|---------|----------------|---------------|
| 1 | Cheese | ch |
| 2 | Clock | ✘ Not ch/sh |
| 3 | Ship | sh |
| 4 | Cheerleader | ch |
| 5 | Soup | ✘ Not ch/sh |
| 6 | Shoe | sh |
| 7 | Fish | ✘ Starts with /f/ |
| 8 | Trash can | ✘ Not ch/sh |
| 9 | Lunch tray | ch |
| 10 | Shark | sh |

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## 📝 Teacher/Parent Notes:

This worksheet has several errors — 4 out of 10 images do not start with “ch” or “sh”. This could confuse learners.

✔ Recommended Fixes:
- Replace clock → chef
- Replace soup → shrimp or chicken
- Replace fish → shell or shark (already used) → maybe chick
- Replace trash can → chair

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## ✔ Corrected Worksheet Answers (assuming intended words):

If we assume the worksheet meant to use only “ch” and “sh” starters:

1. Cheese → ch
2. Chef → ch *(instead of clock)*
3. Ship → sh
4. Cheerleader → ch
5. Chicken → ch *(instead of soup)*
6. Shoe → sh
7. Shell → sh *(instead of fish)*
8. Chair → ch *(instead of trash can)*
9. Lunch → ch
10. Shark → sh

Then all answers would be valid!

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## 🎓 Educational Value:

This activity teaches:
- Phonemic awareness – identifying beginning sounds
- Digraph recognition – distinguishing “ch” vs “sh”
- Visual-word association – linking pictures to spoken words

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✔ Final Tip for Students: Say the word out loud slowly. What sound do you hear first? Is it like “church” (/ch/) or “shoe” (/sh/)?

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📌 Summary Answer (based on actual images, ignoring mismatches where possible):

> Circle:
> 1. ch
> 2. *(no correct choice)*
> 3. sh
> 4. ch
> 5. *(no correct choice)*
> 6. sh
> 7. *(starts with /f/ — not ch/sh)*
> 8. *(no correct choice)*
> 9. ch
> 10. sh

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Let me know if you’d like a corrected version of the worksheet! 😊