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Mr. Pig is Big! 

 

 

 

 

 

Rationale: This lesson teaches children about the short vowel correspondence i=/i/. In order to be able to read, children must learn to recognize the spellings that map word pronunciations. In this lesson children will learn to recognize, spell and read words containing the spelling i. They will learn a meaningful representation (a big pig), they will spell and read words containing this spelling in a letter box lesson and read a decodable book that focuses on the correspondence i=/i/. 

 

Materials: Graphic image of a big pig; cover-up critter; scissors; glue; whiteboard; letter boxes for modeling and for each student; letter tiles for each students; magnetic letters for whiteboard letterbox; h,I,t,l,p,s,k,n,p,e,t; list of spelling words on poster to read: pig,big,sit,will,stiff; decodable text: Tin Man Fix-It and Assessment Worksheet.

 

Procedures:

  1. Say: In order to become expert readers, we need to learn the code that tells us how to pronounce words. We have already learned to read words with short a and e like pat and set, and today we are going to learn about short i. When I say /i/ I think of a big pig and I tell myself “wow, Mr. Pig is Big!”. [show image of a big pig]. 

  2. Say: Before we learn the spelling of /i/, we need to listen for it in some words. When I listen for /i/ in words, I hear I say /i/ and my mouth separates a little bit like this. [make exaggerated vocal gestures]. There is a short I in hit. Now I am going to see if it’s in tie. Hmm, I didn’t hear I say it’s sound and my mouth did not exactly move the same way. My mouth did not open and expand like when I say hit. Now you try. If you hear /i/ say “Wow, Mr. Pig is Big!”, if you do not hear /i/ say “That’s not it.” Is it in sit, light, fill, high? [Have children exaggerate pronunciations and mimic the stretching of the mouth for /i/]

  3. Say: Now let’s look at the spelling of /i/ that we will learn today. A little I is a stick with a dot on top. [write an i on the board]. Who knows what a capital I looks like? [wait for responses, then demonstrate drawing a capital I]. What if I want to spell hit in a sentence? “The baseball player hit the ball for a homerun”. To spell hit in letterboxes, first I need to know how many phonemes I have in the word, so I stretch it out and count: h/i/t. I need 3 boxes. I hear the /i/ in the middle, so I am going to put an “I” in the middle box. The word starts with /h/. That’s easy; I need an h. Now I have to sound out “hit” to find the last letter. I think I hear a t.

         H

         

          I

       

          T

 

  1. Say: Now I am going to have you spell some words in letterboxes. You will start out easy with three boxes for lip. Everyone point to your top lip. What should go in the first box? [respond to children’s answers]. What goes in the second box? I will start checking your spellings as I walk around the room. [Observe process]. You’ll need four letterboxes for the next word. Listen for the beginning sound that goes in the first box. Then listen for /i/. Here is the word: skin. I have very dry skin. [allow children to spell the word]. Time to check your work. Watch how I spell it in my letterboxes on the board: s-k-i-n and see if you spelled it the same way. Try another with four boxes: trim; My hair really needs a trim. [Have volunteer spell it in the letterbox on the board for the class. Allow children to check their work and repeat this step for each new word]. Next Word. Listen to see if this word has /i/ before you spell it: pet. Do you hear an /i/? Right, because we do not hear /i/ we know it is /e/. [Volunteer spells it on the front board]. Now let’s try 5 phonemes: Kitten. The kitten was so little and cute. Remember to stretch out a tough word. [Add review words like fat, bell, chap, plan, send]

  2. Now I am going to let you read the words you have spelled, but first I will show you how I would read a tough word. [Display a poster with kitten and model reading the word]. First, I see there is an I in the word. I know that I is a short vowel I. I am going to use my cover up critter to get the first part. [Uncover and blend sequentially before the vowel, then blend with the vowel]. /k//i//t/=/kit/. Bow I am going to sound out the second half of the word. /t//e//n/. Kitten, that’s it. Now it is your turn, everyone together. [Have children read words in unison. Afterwards, call on individuals to read one word on the list until everyone has had a turn]. 

  3. Say: You have done a great job reading words with our new spelling for /i/. Now we are going to read a book called Tin Man Fix-It. This is a story about a boy named Jim and a tin man named Tim. Sid is another kid who is riding on a skateboard past Jim and Tim. Sid is going very fast and not paying attention to those around him. Sid ends up hitting Tim the tin man. Will Jim be able to fix him, or will Tim remain broken? [Children pair up and take turns reading alternate pages each while teacher walks around the room monitoring the progress. After individual paired reading, the class rereads Tin Man Fix-It aloud together and stops between pages to discuss the plot]. 

  4. Say: That was a fun story.  What did Jim use to fix Tim? Right, he had a toolbox filled with tools. What dd Jim have to do to fix Tim? Right, he had to put six pins in Tim’s hip. Before we finish up without lesson about how we spell /i/=i, I want to see how you can solve a reading problem. On this worksheet, you will need to match the picture with the correct word. First try reading all of the words. Then, cut out the pictures and glue them to the right place. Reread your answers to make sure they make sense. 

  5. References:

 -BR Lesson Example https://auburn.instructure.com/courses/1198003/files?preview=150423325

        

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