Icky Sticky Piggy
A Beginning Reading Lesson
LeighEllen Morrison
Rationale:This lesson teaches children about the short vowel correspondence i = /i/. In order to be able to read, children must learn to recognize the spellings that map word pronunciations. In this lesson children will learn to recognize, spell, and read words containing i. They will learn a meaningful representation (hand gesture trying to get the icky sticky off your hands) they will spell and read words containing this spelling in a letterbox lesson, and read a decodable book that focuses on the correspondence i = /i/.
Materials:
Graphic image of the icky sticky piggy covered in mud; cover-up critter; whiteboard or smart board; Elkonin boxes for modeling and individual Elkonin boxes for each student; letter manipulatives for each child and magnetic or smartboard letters for teacher: i, t, s, c, k, y, k, c, h, d, r, n, g, p, l, f; list of spelling words on poster or whiteboard to read: it, sticky, kick, hiss, drink, lift thing, fit, rip; decodable text: Liz is Six (focusing on i =/i/), and assessment worksheet (Words with the Short I Sound).
Procedures:
1. Say: In order to become expert readers we need to learn the code that tells us how to pronounce words. We have already learned to read short vowel words with a like cat, or short e like bed. Today we are going to learn about short i. When I say /i/ think about having something icky sticky all over your hands and we are trying to shake it off. [Use hand gesture and shore graphic image of sticky hands].
2. 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 hear i say its name /i/ and I can feel my mouth open but my tongue stays low /i/. [Make vocal gesture for /i/.] I’ll show you first: ffff-iiiii-ttttt. I heard i say its name and I felt mouth open and my tongue stay low when I said /i/. There is a short i in fit. Now I’m going to see if it’s in kite. Hmm, I didn’t hear i say its name and my mouth didn’t open and my tongue didn’t stay low. My throat also didn’t make the sound /i/. Now you try. If you hear /i/ say, “Icky Sticky Piggy” If you don’t hear /i/ say, “That’s not it.” Is it in fire, trip, dice, mail, dip? [Have children point to their mouth if it opens and their tongue goes down as they say /i/]
3. Say: Now we are going to look at the spelling of /i/ that we’ll learn today. We spell i very simply, i. [Write i on the board]. What if I would like to spell the word: drink? “I have to drink water when I play outside.” Drink means to take a liquid in your mouth and swallow it. To spell think in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes I have in the word. That means I have to stretch it out and count: /d//r//i//n//k/. I need 5 boxes. I heard that /i/ just before the /n/ so I am going to put an i in the third letterbox. At the beginning of the word I hear /d/, which means I need a d to go in the first box. /d//r//i//n//k/. I also hear a roaring sound of /r/ right after the /d/ but before the /i/. So I put the “r” in the second box. I have two boxes left. Let’s really stretch this last part of the word. Putting n and k in words can be a little tricky. [Point to letters in boxes when stretching out the word: /d//r//i//n//k/]. I hear an n before k, so I will put “n” in the fourth box, and “k” in the last box. drink
4. Say: Now I’m going to have you spell some words in letterboxes. You’ll start out easy with two letterboxes for it. What should go in the first box? [Respond to children’s answers]. What goes in the second box? [Respond to children’s answers] I’ll check your spelling while I walk around the room. [Observe progress.] You’ll need with three boxes for rip. An example of a rip would be a tear in your pants. “I got a rip on my pants when I tripped.” [Allow children to spell words.] Time to check your work! Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: r – i – p and see if you’ve spelled it the same way. Try another with three boxes: fit ; All the clothes fit in one box. [Have a volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the front board for children to check their own work. Repeat this for every new word]. Next word. Listen to see if this word has /i/ in it before you spell it: strike; The baseball player got a strike. Did you hear /i/? No! Right, because we don’t hear /i/ say its’ name. We spell it with our long vowel /I/ which is spelled i_e. [Volunteer spells it on the front board]. Now let’s try 4 phonemes: lift; I have to lift this box. One more then we’re done with spelling, and this time you need 5 boxes: sticky. My hands are sticky! Remember to stretch it out to get through this difficult word!
5. Say: Now I am going to let you read the words you’ve spelled, but first I’ll show you how I would read a tough word. [Display poster with drink on the top and model reading the word.] First I see there is i which is our icky sticky /i/. I am going to use a cover-up critter to get the first part. [Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel.] /d//r/ = /dr/. Now I am going to blend that with /i/ = /dri/. Now all I need is the end. /n/ +/k/ = /nk/. Let’s bring it all together /drink/. Drink: that’s it!! Now it’s your turn, everyone together. [Have children read words in unison. Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn.] drink
6. Say: You’ve done a fantastic job at reading words with our new spelling for /i/: i. Now we are going to read a book called Liz is Six. This is a story about a girl named Liz who just turned 6! She gets a mitt for her birthday and wants to play baseball with her friends. She hits the ball really far, and the pig is trying to catch it. Can the pig catch the ball? You’ll have to read to find out!! Let’s pair up and take turns reading to find out if the pig will catch Liz’s hit. [Children pair up and take turns reading alternate pages each while the teacher walks around the room to monitor their progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads Liz is Six aloud together, and stops between page turns to discuss the plot.]
7. Say: That was a fun story. Who were the characters in the story? Right, Liz, the pig, and her friends. What did Liz do? Right, she hit the ball really far. Before we finish with our lesson about one way to spell i= /i/, I want to see how you can solve a reading problem by completing this worksheet about our icky sticky piggy /i/ sound. On this worksheet, we have some different pictures and under each picture are 3 different words. It is your job to look at the picture, read the words, and decide which word has our icky sticky piggy /i/. Circle the word where you hear the icky sticky piggy /i/. Reread your answers to see if they make sense. [Collect all worksheets to evaluate individual child progress.]
Resources:
Murray, G. (2004) Oh, I didn’t know!. Reading Genie: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/bookindex.html
Internet Site: Stewart, Kaley. I am So Icky and Sticky. http://kms0072.wix.com/sweetreads#!/cjg9
Graphic Image: http://www.auburn.edu/academic/education/reading_genie/Phon-let%20pics/i.jpg
Book: Liz Is Six. Carson, California. Educational Insights, 1990. Pages: 8.
Assessment worksheet: http://www.enchantedlearning.com/phonics/mc/i-short/
