Beginning Reading Literacy Design: Icky Sticky Slime

Anna Bahme

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 the spelling i. They will learn meaningful representation (fingers stretching out sticky slime), 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 fingers stretching out sticky slime

• Cover-up critter, whiteboard or smartboard

• Elkonin boxes for modeling and individual Elkonin boxes for each student

• Letter manipulatives for each child and magnetic or smartboard letters for the teacher: s, i, t, p, l, n, b, c, k, p

• List of spelling words on poster or whiteboard to read: sit, spill, kick, thin, set, grill hen

• Decodable text: Liz Is Six (Educational Insights)

• Assessment worksheet

 

Procedures:

1. Say: In order to become expert readers, we need to learn the code that tells us how to pronounce words. Today, we are going to learn about short vowel i, i, icky sticky, /i/. When I say /i/, I think of icky sticky slime that get’s stuck on my fingers and stretches when I move my hands (show graphic image).i and use it say

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, i, icky sticky, /i/, my mouth opens and my top and bottom teeth almost touch each other (make vocal gesture for /i/). I’ll show you first: sit. I heard i say its sound and I felt my mouth open and my lips stretch to each side (make vocal gesture). Now let’s see if we hear /i/, say, “icky sticky slime” and stretch your hands apart from each other. Is it in seed, kid, bat, fit? (Have children stretch their hands when they feel /i/ say its sound).i say

3. Say: Now let’s try to use what we just learned to spell a word using /i/. What if I want to spell the word spill? “I let my water spill on the floor.” Spill means an i in the third box. The word starts with /s/, that’s easy; I need an s. Now it gets a little hard so I’m going to say it slowly, /s//p//i//ll/. I think I heard /p/ so I’ll put a p right after the s. I know the i goes in the third box, so I have one empty box. Point to letters in boxes when stretching out the words.drop in this sentence. To spell spill in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes are in the word so I stretch it out and count: /s//p//i//ll/. I need 4 boxes. I heard /i/ just before the /ll/ so I’m going to put

4. Say: Now I’m going to have you spell some words in letterboxes. You’ll start out with two boxes for in, “I went in the house.” What should go in the first box? (Respond to children’s answers). What goes in the second box? I’ll check your spelling while I walk around the room. (Observe progress). You’ll need four letterboxes for the next word. Listen for the beginning sound to spell in the first box. Then listen for /i/. Here’s the word: sit, I want to go sit on the couch; sit. (Allow children to spell words.) Time to check your work. Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: s-i-t and see if you’ve spelled it the same way. Try another with three boxes: bit; I got bit by a mosquito. (Have a volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the front board for children to check their work. Repeat this step for each new word. Next word. Listen to see if this word has /i/ in it before you spell it: sock; I wear a sock on each foot. Did you hear /i/ in the word? Right, this word has /o/, not /i/. Now let’s try four phonemes: pink; the kitchen walls are pink. One more then we’re done with spelling, and this time you need five boxes: sprint; football players sprint down the field. Remember to stretch it out to get this tough 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 sprint on the top and model reading the word.) I see that there’s the vowel /i/, so it must have the same sound that “icky sticky” has. I’m going to use a cover-up to get the first part. (Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel.) /s//p/ = /sp/ + /r/ = /spri/. Now all I need is the end, /nt/ = /sprint/. Sprint, that’s it. Now it’s your turn, everyone, together. (Have children read words in unison. Afterward, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn. /spr/. Now, I’m going to blend that with i = /

6. Say: You’ve done a great job 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 Liz, a girl who gets a new mitt for her birthday and goes to play baseball outside with her friends. Liz catches her friend Pig’s ball with her mitt, but will Pig be able to catch the ball she hits? Let’s pair up and take turns to keep reading and you’ll find out! (Children pair up and take turns reading alternating pages each while the teacher walks around the room monitoring their progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads Liz Is Six aloud together and stops between page turns to discuss the story.)

7. Say: That was a fun story. Did Pig catch Liz’s ball? Right, he did! What did Liz and Pig do to celebrate? Right, they danced. Before we finish with our lesson about one way to spell /i/ = i, I want to see how you solve a reading problem. On this worksheet, there are some words that are spelt with /i/. First, try to say each word, then trace it, and then write it on the line that is provided. Read your answers to see if they make sense. (Collect worksheets to assess individual progress).

 

Resources:

Assessment: http://www.kidslearningstation.com/spelling/2nd-grade/worksheets/spelling-worksheet-trace-short-i-words.pdf

 

References:

Melissa Murphee, Ehh, I Can’t Hear You: http://mjm0065.wixsite.com/melissamurphree/beginning-reading

Murray, G. Oh I Didn’t Know!: https://auburn.instructure.com/courses/978824/files?preview=84282382