State the Objective
Tell the children that they will sort twigs and sticks and read and write words with the short-i (/ĭ/) sound, such as pick, twig, big, and thick.

Literacy Activities
Sort twigs and sticks

• Show the children the letter I and say that it makes the /ĭ/ sound.
• Make the sign for the short-i sound by pretending to scratch an itch on your arm.
• Tell the children that small sticks are called twigs.
• Let the children sort twigs and sticks and make comments:
  • “A big stick.”
  • “A thick stick, not a twig.”
  • “A twig is a thin stick, not a big stick.”
  • “A twig! You picked a twig.”
  • “A twig is not big.”
  • “Is this a big twig or a thin stick?”
• Have the children shut their eyes.
• Hold a stick in one hand and a twig in the other; hide them behind your back.
• Let the children tap an arm and see if they picked the twig or the stick.
• Read the text A Twig and a Stick (see below) with the children.

Feed twigs to a pig

• Show the children a drawing of a pig’s face (example below).
• Tell the children that a pig can eat twigs and sticks but not pits.
• Let the children find food for a pig in a pile of twigs, sticks, and pits.
• Have the children pretend to feed twigs or sticks to the pig.
• Comment on what the pig can eat:
  • “Pigs can eat twigs.”
  • “A twig! You can feed a twig to a pig.”
  • “The pig can eat that twig.”
  • “A twig or a stick? If it is big and thick, it is a stick.”
  • “Big and thick! A stick!”
  • “The pig will get sick if it eats a pit.”  
  • “Pigs can eat twigs and thick sticks.”  

Read the A Pig Can Eat a Twig text

• Read the text A Pig Can Eat a Twig (see below) with the children.
• Help the children find words that have a short-i sound in the text.

Blend short-i words

• Teach the children how to blend sounds into short-i words.
• Let the children separate big into sounds (b + ĭ + g) and clap with each sound.
• Have the children say the complete word (big) and clap loudly.
• Continue blending other short-i words:
  • d + ĭ + g = dig
  • b + ĭ + n = bin
  • f + ĭ + t = fit
  • p + ĭ + g = pig
  • p + ĭ + t = pit