Lesson 8: i /ĭ/

Overview

Focus: Short i as in igloo

Graphemes and Heart Words

New grapheme: i /ĭ/

New heart words: none

Heart words so far: the, I, and, a

Letter Formation Cues

Big I: Line down. Line across the top and the bottom.

Small i: Line down from the middle. Dot on top.

Say while modeling: "This is i. It says /ĭ/." Have the child say the sound each time they write the letter.

Word List

Words: fit, pat, mat, pit, tap, sip, sit, sat, it, if, tip, tat, fat, at, map, sap

Sentences

  • Tim sat.
  • I sit at a mat.
  • Pat and Tim sip.
  • I sit.
Parent guide: what to say for each slide

Use only previously taught letters and sounds during review before New Concept. Have paper, a marker, and letter tiles ready. Say sounds where slashes appear. For sentence dictation, keep the goose slide showing, read the sentence aloud, and reveal the next slide only after writing.

Slide 1 — Welcome to Lesson 8

SAY
Today we’ll practice our sounds and learn i. Then we’ll read words and sentences together.

LISTEN FOR
Gets ready.

PARENT TIP
Have the known letter tiles and i ready. Introduce i when you reach the New Concept section.

Slide 2 — Blending Practice

SAY
Listen to my sounds. Put them together to tell me the whole word.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 3 — Listen and blend

SAY
What word is /a/ /t/? Now /m/ /a/ /t/. Now /m/ /a/ /p/. Now /s/ /a/ /p/.

LISTEN FOR
at; mat; map; sap.

PARENT TIP
Parent-supplied prompts for the ear picture. These words use letters already taught. Do not introduce /ĭ/ during this review.

Slide 4 — Segmenting Practice

SAY
Now listen to a whole word and tell me each sound you hear.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 5 — Listen and segment

SAY
Say sat. Tell me its sounds. Now do pat. Now do tap.

LISTEN FOR
sat: /s/ /a/ /t/; pat: /p/ /a/ /t/; tap: /t/ /a/ /p/.

PARENT TIP
Parent-supplied prompts for the ear picture. Tap one finger per sound. These three words each have three sounds.

Slide 6 — Visual Drill

SAY
Tell me the sound of each letter as it appears.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 7 — Visual drill a

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/ă/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 8 — Visual drill s

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/s/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 9 — Visual drill t

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/t/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 10 — Visual drill p

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/p/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 11 — Visual drill f

SAY
What sound does this letter spell?

LISTEN FOR
/f/

PARENT TIP
Ask for the sound rather than the letter name. Model once if needed.

Slide 12 — Auditory Drill

SAY
Listen, say the sound back, and write the letter that spells it.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 13 — Listen and write three letters

SAY
Listen to my sound. Say it back, then write the letter that spells it.

LISTEN FOR
/t/ → t; /s/ → s; /p/ → p

PARENT TIP
Give only three sounds, one at a time, in this order: /t/, /s/, /p/. Keep the answer slide hidden until your child has written the letters.

Slide 14 — Check your three letters

SAY
Let’s check your writing. Point to each letter and tell me its sound. Watch how the letter is made, then try it once more.

LISTEN FOR
t, s, p

PARENT TIP
These are the three letters shown. Pause or replay the formation animations as needed.

Slide 15 — Word Building

SAY
Let’s use our known letters to build and read.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 16 — Get the letter tiles ready

SAY
Put your letter tiles where you can reach them. I’ll say a word. You’ll say the sounds, choose the letters, and read the word you built.

LISTEN FOR
Gets the known letters ready.

PARENT TIP
The board picture is a cue to use your own tiles or letter cards. Use the letters your child has learned; the decorative letters in the picture are not the word list.

Slide 17 — Read fat, sap, and mat

SAY
Read the top row: /f/ /a/ /t/, fat. Now read /s/ /a/ /p/, sap. Finally, read /m/ /a/ /t/, mat. Say the sounds, then blend each word.

LISTEN FOR
Reads fat, sap, and mat in the order shown.

PARENT TIP
Use your own tiles to build each word, then compare with the slide. Fat and mat differ only in their first sound. To change sap to mat, change both the first and last sounds; do not describe this as a one-sound change.

Slide 18 — New Concept

SAY
Our new letter is i. Listen: /ĭ/ as in igloo.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 19 — Meet i

SAY
This is uppercase I and lowercase i. The letter i spells /ĭ/. Say the sound with me.

LISTEN FOR
/ĭ/

PARENT TIP
Point to both letter forms in the supplied paired-letter image. The animated formation practice comes later in this lesson.

Slide 20 — Find different forms of i

SAY
These letters look a little different, but they are all i. Can you find a capital one? Can you find a lowercase one? They can all spell /ĭ/.

LISTEN FOR
Points to uppercase and lowercase forms; says /ĭ/.

PARENT TIP
Use this as letter recognition practice. There is no need to name every font or trace every example.

Slide 21 — I is a vowel

SAY
I is a vowel. Open your mouth and say /ĭ/. Your voice is on. Try it with me.

LISTEN FOR
Makes /ĭ/.

PARENT TIP
Say the sound /ĭ/ as in igloo, not the letter name.

Slide 22 — Igloo and insect

SAY
Say igloo. What sound is at the beginning? Now say insect. What sound comes first?

LISTEN FOR
/ĭ/ in both words.

PARENT TIP
Read the words aloud. Focus on the first sound; the other spellings have not all been taught.

Slide 23 — I at the beginning of iguana

SAY
This is an iguana. Say iguana. Listen to the first sound: /ĭ/ guana. What sound do you hear at the beginning?

LISTEN FOR
/ĭ/.

PARENT TIP
Point to the i and say /ĭ/. Adult supplies the word iguana; the rest of the spelling is not part of this lesson's word list.

Slide 24 — I in the middle of pig

SAY
This is a pig. Say pig. Listen slowly: p/ĭ/g. Can you hear /ĭ/ in the middle of the word? Say it again with me.

LISTEN FOR
Hears /ĭ/ within pig.

PARENT TIP
Point to the i in the middle of the written word as you say /ĭ/. The g spelling is not part of this lesson's word list, so supply the word pig.

Slide 25 — Blend sit

SAY
Touch each dot and say the sound: /s/ /ĭ/ /t/. Now slide the sounds together: /sss/ĭ/t/, sit. Your turn.

LISTEN FOR
Reads "sit."

PARENT TIP
Touch one dot per sound, then sweep under the word. Keep /s/ connected to the vowel and keep /t/ brief.

Slide 26 — Write lowercase i

SAY
Watch the animation, then write lowercase i. Say /ĭ/ as you write it.

LISTEN FOR
Writes i and says /ĭ/.

PARENT TIP
Pause or replay the supplied formation animation as needed.

Slide 27 — Write uppercase I

SAY
Watch the animation, then write uppercase I. Say /ĭ/ as you write it.

LISTEN FOR
Writes I and says /ĭ/.

PARENT TIP
Pause or replay the supplied formation animation as needed.

Slide 28 — Reading

SAY
Let’s read with the sounds and words we know. We’ll sound out a word when we need to and then reread smoothly.

LISTEN FOR
Let your child settle into the next activity.

Slide 29 — I sit.

SAY
Read I. Now sound out sit: /s/ /ĭ/ /t/. Read the whole sentence: I sit.

LISTEN FOR
Reads "I sit."

PARENT TIP
Supply the word I if needed, then have your child reread the sentence. Use the period as a cue to stop.

Slide 30 — Tim sat.

SAY
Sound out Tim: /t/ /ĭ/ /m/. Now sound out sat: /s/ /a/ /t/. Read the whole sentence: Tim sat.

LISTEN FOR
Reads "Tim sat."

PARENT TIP
Tim starts with a capital letter because it is a name. Point through every letter, then have your child reread the sentence smoothly.

Slide 31 — I sit at a mat.

SAY
Read I. Sound out sit: /s/ /ĭ/ /t/. Read at. Here is our word a. Now blend mat: /m/ /a/ /t/. Read the whole sentence: I sit at a mat.

LISTEN FOR
Reads "I sit at a mat."

PARENT TIP
Supply the word a if needed, then have your child reread the sentence. Use the period as a cue to stop. Point through every letter.

Slide 32 — Sentence dictation — listen and write

SAY
Listen to this sentence: Pat and Tim sip. Say the whole sentence back to me. Now write it.

LISTEN FOR
Pat and Tim sip.

PARENT TIP
Do not show the sentence before dictating it. Keep the goose-writing cue on screen. Say the sentence twice at a natural pace. Let your child repeat it, write it, and reread their own writing. Check the new concept, capitals, spaces, and punctuation. Then go to the NEXT slide to reveal the sentence and check together.

Slide 33 — Sentence reveal and check

SAY
Now let’s check the sentence you wrote. Read your writing, then compare it with this sentence.

LISTEN FOR
Pat and Tim sip.

PARENT TIP
This is the first time your child sees the complete dictation sentence. Check the new concept, capitals, spaces, and punctuation. Help with previously taught heart words as needed.

Slide 34 — Good Bye

SAY
You worked on i today. What sound does it spell? Show me one thing you learned. I noticed how you kept trying. We’re finished for today!

LISTEN FOR
/ĭ/

PARENT TIP
Choose one specific success to mention, such as hearing a sound, blending a word, or forming a letter. Stop here for the child.

Slide 35 — Copyright and course information

PARENT TIP
Adult information only. No child-facing script is needed; you may skip this slide during teaching.

Workbook Pages

Letter formation

Do: Trace the big and small I and i. Circle the best one in each row. Say /ĭ/ each time you write it.

If stuck: "Show me where you start." Model once on a whiteboard, then have the child copy it there before the page.

Letter sort

Do: Cut out the letter cards. Glue every I and i under ✓, even when it looks different. Glue the letters that are not i under ✗.


Missing sound

Do: Name the picture. Say the word slowly and listen for the middle sound. Circle the letter that makes it, write it in the empty box, then read the word.

If stuck: "Say the picture name slowly. What sound is in the middle?"

Heart word review

Do: Roll a die and find the column with the matching dots. The first time you roll it, read the word at the top. The second time, trace it. After that, write it by yourself in the next empty box in that column. Keep rolling until a column is full.

If stuck: "Is this a heart word, or can we sound it out?" Say it, spell it aloud, read it again.

Word search

Do: Read each word in the box. Find it in the puzzle. Words go across or down. Circle the word, then tick it in the box.

If stuck: "Read the word in the box. What letter does it start with? Look for that letter."

Reading fluency

Do: Read the heart words, then the phrases, then the sentences. Tick each sentence box after reading it. Read the page again the next day and listen for smoother reading.

Word ladder

Do: Read the ladder from the bottom up. Only one sound changes each step. Then write the words your grown-up says (Teacher's Guide).

Say: Dictate in order: at → mat → map → sap → sat → pat.

If stuck: "What changed? Which sound is different from the word before?"

Dictation

Do: Read each sentence from the Teacher's Guide two times. The child says it back, counts the words on their fingers, then writes it on the lines. Check for a capital letter, spaces between words, and an end mark.

Say: Dictate: 1. "I sit."

Watch For

  • Mixing up /ĭ/ and /ĕ/ (e is not taught yet, so correct to /ĭ/).
  • Reading sit as sat: the child is not looking at the vowel.

Game: Build an Igloo

Materials

  • White blocks, sugar cubes, or white paper rectangles (about 12)
  • Index cards with these words: sit, tip, pit, fit, sip, fist
  • A tray to build on

How to play

  1. Put the word cards in a pile and the blocks in a stack.
  2. The learner draws a card and reads the word, tapping each sound: /s/ /ĭ/ /t/, sit.
  3. For each word read correctly, the learner adds one block to the igloo.
  4. If they get stuck, help them sound it out and set the card at the bottom of the pile to try again later.
  5. Keep stacking until the igloo is built or the cards are gone. You can shuffle and play again for a taller igloo.

Word list

sit, tip, pit, fit, sip, fist