With more straightforward vowel pairs and consonant blends now complete, planet 6 focuses on a number of trickier letter combinations that are used numerous times in high-frequency words. Level 6-1 focuses on words ending with either -ch or -tch. The words used in this level are watch, each, scratch, itch, catch, patch, beach, teach, reach, and stretch.

Here is the general principle for when to use -ch or -tch: When following a consonant or a pair of vowels, use -ch. When following a single vowel, use -tch.

You will see that this pattern holds true for all 10 of the words in this level. There are a few exceptions to this rule (e.g. attach, detach), but this principle is a great place to start. We have found over the years that very few students have ever been taught this rule, and so they generally rely only on visual memory for these types of words. Hopefully this level, combined with a quick minilesson, can help your students to attack words containing this particular spelling pattern!