Rachel Coker
Emergent Literacy
 
Icky Sticky
Rationale
To learn to read and spell words, children need to know that letters stand for phonemes and spellings map out the phonemes in spoken words.  Children must learn to recognize phonemes before they can match them to letters.  This lesson will help children identify /i/ (short i).  They will learn to recognize /i/ in spoken words as well as the letter representing it.
Materials
Primary paper and pencil; chart with ãSid, the Indian, is in his iglooä; drawing paper and crayons; picture page with bug, pin, kitten, tint, lips, dog, and chin.
Procedures
1. Introduce the lesson by explaining that writing is a secret code.  Today weâre going to work on spotting the mouth move /i/.  As you get to know /i/ it will be easy to spot in words.
2. Ask students: Have you ever put your hands in something gross and said ãthis is ickyä.  The beginning of ãickyä is the mouth move that weâll be looking for today.  Everybody say kitty and stretch it out.  See if you hear the icky sound.  Yes, right in the middle.
3. Letâs try a tongue twister. (on chart)  Sid the Indian is in his igloo.  Everybody say it together.  Say it again but this time stretch the /i/ at the beginning of the words.  ãSid the iiindian iiis iiin his iiigloo.ä  Try it again, and this time break it off the word: Sid the /i/ ndian /i/ s /i/ n his /i/ gloo.  Good work
4. We can use the letter i to spell /i/.  Letâs write it.  Start at the fence line.  Draw a line straight down to the sidewalk.  Then right above the fence line, make a dot.  After I check your letter i, I want you to make a whole row just like that one.
5. Iâm going to ask you some questions and raise your hand to answer.  Do you hear /i/ in pin or bat?  Sit or stand?  Kitty or dog?  Bit or eat?  I am going to give you a card with the letter i on it.  If you hear the /i/ sound, I want you to raise your card.  If you donât here it, keep your card on your desk.
6.  Have students get out their paper and pencil.  "We are going to learn to make the letter i.  Begin at the fence line and draw a straight line down.  Then go between the fence line and the sky line and make a dot.  When you get finished, show me.  Then I want you to make a whole row of them.
7. For assessment, hand out picture page and get students to name each picture.  Then get students to circle each picture whose names have /i/ in them.
 

Reference
Eldredge, J. Loyd.  (1995) Teaching Decoding in Holistic Classrooms
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