State the Objective:

Tell the children that they will find the letter I as they associate it with the /ĭ/ sound in words such as in, if, it, and is. 

Literacy Activities

Itch it

• Write the letter I on a piece of paper and show it to the children.
• Explain that I can say the short-i (/ĭ/) sound.
• Say, “I hear /ĭ/ in it, itch, into, if, in, and ill.”
• Make a gesture for the short-i sound by pretending to scratch an itch and say, “I hear /ĭ/ in itch.”
• Hold up the I and have the children copy the gesture while saying, “/ĭ/, /ĭ/, /ĭ/, itch.”

Find and blend /ĭ/ words 

• Read the If It Is In target text (see below) to the children.
• Have the children underline words that start with a short-i sound. 
• List words from the text: is, if, it, in.
• Break words from the list into individual sounds (e.g., i + n).
• Ask what word you said; state it if necessary (e.g., “What word did I say? In!”).
• Repeat with other words (e.g., if, is, it).   

Guess what the I is in

• Place the I written on paper next to two containers (e.g., a bin, box, cup, bag). 
• Tell the children that you will hide the I and have them close their eyes.
• Place the letter I in one of the containers.
• Have the children open their eyes and ask, “What is the I in? What is it in?” 
• When the children find the I, say, “That is it! That is the I that goes /ĭ/, /ĭ/, /ĭ/, in!”

Write short-i words

• Break the word it into individual sounds: /ĭ/ + /t/.
• Have the children write the word you are sounding out.
• Repeat for other short-i words (e.g., is, in, if). 

Ask if the I is in

• Have the children cup their hands and close their eyes.
• Slip the letter I into one of the children’s hands. 
• Have the children open their eyes and ask, “Whose hand is it in?” 
• After the child who has the I answers, say, “The I that goes /ĭ/ is in your hand!”