Confusing Combinations & Origins!
The teaching of phonics sounds/spellings can be largely categorized into a simple code and a complex code. The simple code is fairly simple and straightforward where one letter represents just one sound. For example, letter B makes the /b/ sound.
The complex code is where letter(s) can make multiple sounds, and multiple spellings making the same sound. For example:
CH makes the /ch/, /sh/, and /k/ sounds (chop, chef, school).
The /sh/ sound has multiple spellings including "sh", "ch", "ti", "ci", and "si/ssi".
(Note: slashes / / denote the sound made.)
- /sh/ – "sh", "ch", "ti", "ci", "si/ssi" (shop, chef, potion, special, vision, mission). Complicated huh?
There are many other examples, but I won’t list them all here.
Let's talk about the /sh/ sound and it’s different spellings here.
I teach the spellings that have higher frequency of occurrence in words. For the /sh/ sound, I would start teaching the "SH" spelling. If I have an older G1 or G2 student, and if I’m comfortable with their ability/progress, then I may make them aware that "CH" can also make the /sh/ sound, and sometimes – not often – I will introduce the additional spellings of "ti", "ci", and "ssi".
I find it much better to wait until a student has a solid grasp of the "SH" spelling for the /sh/ sound before introducing the others, and I also find it easier to teach the additional spellings to students as they come across them during reading sessions. The nice thing about the "ti", "ci", and "si/ssi" spellings is that you’ll notice that they tend to have similar endings. I’ll give some examples below:
ti
- potion
- motion
- portion
- action
- cautious
- nutritious
- ambitious
- partial
- substantial
- ancient
- potential
The "ti" spelling for the /sh/ sound typically end with:
- tion
- tious
- tial
ci
- artificial
- facial
- social
- magician
- technician
- physician
- delicious
- spacious
- precious
The "ci" spelling for the /sh/ sound typically end with:
- cial
- cian
- cious
si
- fusion
- vision
- decision
- tension
ssi
- passion
- mission
- compression
- discussion
"si" and "ssi" spellings will end with "sion" or "ssion".
Another interesting thing to note in these endings is that the vowels in these are typically a schwa.
Still lost with which one to use and when?
A number of different letter groups (digraphs) make the /sh/ sound:
- ce - ocean. si - tension. ci - delicious. ti - action
- ti and ci can make the /sh/ sound at the beginning of all syllables except for the first one in a word:
- conscious, racial, patient, and influential.
- Root words ending in 't' or 'te' often use 'ti' to make the /sh/ sound:
- eg. act - action, direct - direction, complete - completion, etc.
- Root words ending in 'c' or 'cs' or 'ce' often use 'ci' to make the /sh/ sound:
- eg. office - official, politics - politician, space - spacial, etc.
Hope this helped
Grammar Grinch! 🫢
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Confusing Combinations & Origins!
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