Overview
The children will play Pin the Fin as they read and write words ending in –in such as pin, fin, win, and spin.

Literacy Activities
Pin the fin

• Direct the children’s attention to the fish graphic that you have secured to the wall, and show them where the fin should be.
• Choose a child to blindfold and give him or her a fin and pushpin. Gently spin the child a few times while everybody chants, “Spin, spin, spin!”
• Allow the child to find the fish and try to pin the fin. Chant as a class, “Pin the fin! Pin the fin!”  
• When the child pins the fin shout, “Pin, fin, win!” 
• Allow each child a turn to pin the fin. 

More Practice
Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• With word blending cards, have the children make new words by changing either of the consonants or the vowel:
  • pin → fin; bin → win; tin → grin
  • pin → pan; bin → bun; tin → ten
  • pin → pit; bin → bid; tin → tip

Read target words in a text

• Display the Pin the Fin target text on the board so that all of the children can easily see it.
• Read the text together as a group. Have the children spin each time they hear a word that ends with –in. 
• Read the text again, fading support.
• Allow one child at a time to underline an –in word from the text. Repeat until all –in words have been underlined.

Pass a fin with a grin

• Have the children sit in a circle and take turns passing the fin
• As the children get the fin, have them say a new word that ends in -in  and grin as they pass the fin to the next child.
• Write each new word on the board.
• Repeat the game, but this time, have the children write each word on the paper fin.
• Allow the children to write a sentence about a fin using the words written on the graphic.