State and Model the Objective
The children will pretend to get dirt on a shirt and skirt and then read and write words spelled with -ir such as, squirt, dirt, shirt, skirt, girl, and first.
 
Literacy Activities 
Let a girl twirl and swirl in dirt

• Put a paper doll in a plastic sheet protector, and tell the children that the girl will twirl, whirl, and swirl around in dirt.
• Put a little dirt on the girl’s skirt and shirt as she twirls, whirls, and swirls in the dirt.
• Let the children squirt water on the girl's shirt and skirt to clean off the dirt.

Engage children in reading and acting 

• Read the I Got Dirt on My Shirt! target text to the children.
• Give some of the children shirt graphics in plastic sheet protectors, and give one child a squirt bottle.
• Read the target text again, this time inviting the children to act it out. 

More Practice 
Read target texts

• Tell the children to use their paper dolls to act out the How Did a Girl Get Dirt on Her Shirt? target text as it’s being read out loud. 
• Invite the children to read the target text, fading support.

Find the skirt and shirt

• Separate the children into groups and give each group a stack of picture cards.
• Assign one child from each group to hide the picture cards in the dirt while the other children close their eyes.
• Tell the children to look for the picture cards, and to put the r-controlled vowel -ir picture cards (e.g., shirt and skirt) into one pile while placing the other cards into a discard pile.
• Discuss as a class which picture cards have the r-controlled vowel -ir.
• Repeat the game as many times as desired, allowing the children to take turns hiding the picture cards.

Write about the activity using target words/patterns

• Let the children write words as you say them: squirt, dirt, skirt, shirt, girl.
• Ask the children to write about the skirt (e.g., “I can squirt dirt off the shirt. I had a shirt with dirt.”).