State and Model the Objective
Tell the children that they will play a pick up sticks game while they read and write words that end with -ick such as stick, pick, trick, click, chick, and quick.

Literacy Activities
Pick Up Sticks

• Read the text Play Pick Up Sticks (see below).
• Hold 5 to 10 craft sticks in a bunch vertically against the floor and let them fall.
• Have the children try to pick up the sticks one by one without moving another stick.
• Play another game where the children flick sticks onto the floor and see how quickly they can pick up the sticks.

Who Will Get the Shortest Stick?

• Read the text Who Gets the Short Stick? (see below).
• Hold sticks of varying lengths in your fist so that all the sticks appear to be the same length.
• Have the children each choose a stick.
• Let the children compare the lengths of the sticks to see who chose the shortest stick, the longest stick, and sticks of equal length.

Read target words in a text

• Read the text Quick! Pick Up Sticks (see below) together with the group and then again fading support.
• Have the children underline the words that end in -ick.

Blend, segment, and spell

• With word-building cards (see below), have the children make new words by changing the vowel or either of the consonants:
  • Change the beginning sound: pick → kick; tick → lick; stick → trick
  • Change the middle sound: stick → stack; trick → truck; click → clack; lick → lock

Write target words/patterns

• Have the children label craft sticks with -ick words (e.g., pick, stick, flick, quick, lick, tick, kick).
• Repeat the pick up sticks game using the labeled sticks. Have the children read the word on each stick they pick up.