Rationale

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This lesson will help students identify the short vowel correspondence i=/i/.  Students need to recognize this correspondence and connect the grapheme to the phoneme in order to accurately read certain words. Students will learn to recognize, spell, and read words that contain the letter i.  They will learn a meaningful representation (Iggy the Icky Sticky Iguana), they will spell and read words in a letter box lesson, and read a decodable book containing the correspondence i=/i/. 

 

Materials

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Decodable book: Is That a Fish by Meleigha Kaiser

Photo of Iguana washing his hands

Primary paper and pencil

Letter boxes (up to 6) and letter tiles: d, g, i, k, n, p, s, t,

List of spelling words on poster board or white board for students to read: stink, dig, skip, pink

Assessment worksheet 

Cover up critter

Procedure

Say: “In order to become expert readers we need to learn the code that tells us how to pronounce words. So today we are going to learn about short i and the sound it makes which is /i/. Look at this funny picture (show picture of iguana washing his hands) This is a picture of Iggy the Icky Sticky Iguana, and he is washing all of that icky sticky mess away! Let’s pretend like we have icky sticky hands and try to shake  the mess away.”

 

Say: “Before we learn about the spelling of /i/, we need to listen for it in some words. When I listen for /i/ in words, I think about my icky sticky iguana and feel my lips make a stretched out smile without my lips touching. [Make a vocal gesture for /i/.] Do we hear the icky sticky /i/ in pit? I heard the icky sticky /i/ sound and I felt my lips make a stretched-out smile. Now, do you hear /i/ in pat? What about click? Sit? Duck?” Wait for students' answers in order to tell them if their answer is right or wrong. 

 

Say: Now we're going to try spelling some words with our icky sticky /i/ sound. We are going to use our letterboxes and letter tiles to help us spell these words. To get us started I am going to spell the word "stink". I might stink after I play basketball. If I want to spell “stink” by using letterboxes, I need to figure out how many phonemes I have in the word. I am going to stretch out the word and count so I will stretch it out and count: /s/ /t/ /i/ /n/ /k/. Now I know that I need five boxes. I heard the icky sticky /i/ just before the /n/ so I know to put an i in the third box. SSStink; that is the s sound, so I know to put an s in my first square. Stttink. Now, I hear the "tttt" sound. That is the sound a t makes, so I know to put a t in the next box. I have one empty box now. [Point to letters in boxes when stretching out the word: /s/ /t/ /i/ /n/ /k/.] I am missing k=/k/ in my last box! Let’s see what we have now. Ssttiink. Stink!

 

Say: Now I am going to have you spell some words using letterboxes. You’ll start out small with three boxes for dig. Like, “I am going to dig a hole.” What should go in the first box? [Respond to children’s answers]. What goes in the second box? [observe] Now what goes in the third box? [observe] You’ll need four letterboxes for the next word. Listen for the beginning sound that goes in the first box. Then listen for /i/ in the word. Here’s the word: skip, Sally likes to skip to class. [Allow children to spell the word] Alright, time to check your work! Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: s-k-i-p and see if you’ve spelled it the same way. Try another with four boxes: pink; Her favorite color is pink. [Repeat this step for each new word.] Now let’s try a word with five phonemes: stink; The dog will stink after playing the the mud. Remember that if you are having a hard time with this word, stretch it out. [Continue to monitor progress and provide assistance if needed.]

 

Say: Now I am going to let you read the words you have spelled, but first I will show you how I would read a tough word. [Display poster with stink on the top and model reading the word.] I am going to start with the i; that part says /i/. Now I’m going to use a cover-up critter to get the first part. [Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel.] /s/ /t/ = /st/. Now, I am going to put the beginning letters with it: s-t-i, stiii. Now, I will put the chunk together with the last sound. Stink. Stink! Like the dog will stink if it does not have a bath. Now it’s your turn so everyone will read it together! [Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn.]

 

Say: You’ve done an excellent job reading words with our new spelling for /i/. I think you’re ready to read a book! We are going to read Is That a Fish? Book-talk: In this story we see many different animals and one of those animals is a very angry skunk! Oh, no, what is going to happen with the angry skunk? We will have to read to find out! Now we are going to pair up and take turns reading pages in the book. Remember, use the cover up critter when you come to a word you do not know and you can finish the sentence to see if that word makes sense. Let me know if you need any help. [Children pair up and take turns reading alternate pages each while the teacher walks around the room monitoring progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads the story aloud together, and stops between page turns to discuss the plot.] 

 

Assessment: That was a fun story! What animals did we see in our story? Yes, we saw all of those animals! Who got the skunk? Yes, mom did! Next, say: “Before we finish up with our lesson, I want to see how you can solve a reading problem. On this worksheet, you are going to decide which pictures and words have the short “i” sound and you are going to write some words with the short “i” sound. Before you turn it in, re-read your answers to see if they make sense. [Collect worksheets to evaluate individual child progress.]

References 

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Assessment Worksheet: https://www.myteachingstation.com/short-i-sound-worksheet

Decodable book: Is That a Fish by Meleigha Kaiser. http://wp.auburn.edu/rdggenie/home/geniebooks/teacherbooks/

Reference: Murray, G. Oh, I didn’t know! https://murraba.wixsite.com/readinglessons/beginning-reading

Reference: Pruitt. The icky iguana. https://akp0028.wixsite.com/lessondesign/beginning-reading

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