Beginning Reading | My Site 1

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Itchy, itchy bug bites!

A Beginning Reading Lesson

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 correspondence i = /i/. They will learn meaningful representation (itchy bug bite, and from a movie character that they might know), 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 mosquito (from The Bee Movie); cover-up critter; whiteboard for modeling and individual white boards for each student; letter manipulatives for each child and magnetic or smartboard letters for teacher: i, t, c, a, t, p, k, d, l, n, k, s, g, f, h, r. List of spelling words on poster or whiteboard to read: it, cat, pet pit, kid, tip, link spit, gift, shrink. Decodable text: Pig in a Bag, and assessment worksheet for short i = /i/.

Procedures

Say: In order to become experts in reading, we need to learn the code that will tell us how to pronounce words. We have already learned short a with words like cat, and short e with words like pet. Today we will be learning short i. When I hear /i/ I think of the word itchy. Like an itchy, itchy bug bite (show animated mosquito on board). Write lowercase i on the board.
Say: Before we learn about the spelling of words with /i/, we need to listen for it in some words. I hear little i say itchy, itchy bug bites “iiiii” when my mouth opens halfway, then my tongue goes to the bottom of my mouth, and lastly, I push air from the back of my throat to make the sound. I will show you first with the word big. I heard i say /i/ and my mouth opened halfway, my tongue came to the bottom of my mouth, and I pushed air from the back of my throat to make the sounds. There is a short /i/ in big. Now I am going to see if short /i/ is in line. Hmm, I didn’t hear /i/ in this word, and I had to open my mouth wider to say it. now you try. If you hear /i/ say, “itchy, itchy bug bites.” If you don’t hear /i/ say “that’s not it.” Is it in pick, sit, cat, ear, lip, car, hip? [You can have the students act like they are itching a bug bite.
Say: What if I want to spell the word pit? “The children dug a large pit in the sand.” Pit means a large hole in the ground. To spell pit in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes I have in this word. To figure this out, I stretch it out and count: /p/ /i/ /t/. This means that I will need three boxes. I head /i/ after /p/ so I am going to put it in the 3rd letterbox. The word starts with /p/, so that’s easy, I’ll put a p in the first box. I heard /t/ last after /i/, so I’ll put that in the last box.
Say: Now let’s practice spelling some words in letterboxes! You will start with two easy boxes for the word it. Like, “It is going to be a good day.” I’m going to walk around the room and check your spelling. [This allows you to observe students’ progress]. Next, we are going to do two review words with short vowels we have already learned. The words are: cat and pet, you will need 3 letterboxes for these also. [Observe student work]. For the next word, you will need three letter boxes. Make sure to listen to the beginning sound to spell in the first box. Then, listen for /i/. The word is: kid. Like, “The kid is going to the playground.” Try another with three boxes: tip, “Let me give you a tip for this problem.” [Have volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the front board for children to check their work. Repeat this step for each new word]. The next word is spin, you will need four letterboxes, because it has four phonemes, phonemes are sounds that letters make. “I love to spin and dance.” [Have volunteer spell it out on the letterboxes on the front board and repeat the same procedure with the rest of the letterbox words: link, spit, gift.
Say: Now I will let you read the words that you have spelled, but first I’ll show you how I would read a tough word. [Display poster with shrink on the top and model reading the word]. First, I hear the itchy, itchy bug bite /i/ in the middle. 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/ /h/ = /sh/ + /r/ = /shr/. Now I’m goin`g to blend that with /i/ = /shri/. Now all I need is the end, /n/ /k/ = /shrink/. Shrink, that’s it. Now it’s your turn, everyone together. [Have children read letterbox lesson words in unison. Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn].
Say: You’ve done a great job with reading our new words with the itchy, itchy bug bite, /i/. Now we are going to read a book called Pig in a Bag. Tim is having his tenth birthday. Wait until you see what Ben is giving him. Boy, is he in for a surprise! [Children pair up and take turns reading alternate pages while teacher walks around the room monitoring progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads Pig in a Bag aloud together, and stops between page turns to discuss the plot].

Assessment:

Say: That was a fun story. What was Tim’s big surprise? Right, a pig! Before we finish up with our lesson about /i/, I have a fun worksheet for you to complete. First, your job is to color the picture that has the short /i/ sound. Then you circle the words with the short /i/ sound. Lastly, you write three words that you know have the short /i/ sound! [Collect worksheets to evaluate individual child progress].

Resources:

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

Bruce and Geri Murray, Lad and His Pals (Pig in a Bag). https://www.amazon.com/Lad-His-Pals-BruceMurray/dp/0578503352/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lad+and+his+pals&qid=1633645356&sr=8-1

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

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