Icky Sticky Fingers!

gluepic

Beginning Reading
Meg Betbeze


Rationale: In order for children to develop phonemic awareness, they must first have an understanding of short vowel sounds.  This is imperative to their success in reading.  This lesson will help children recognize the correspondence i= /i/ in spoken and written words by giving memorable and meaningful representation of sound as well as exposure to its use in words. 
 
Materials:
Liz Is Six for each student
Chart with tongue twister on it (Lizzy the lizard lived in its igloo.)
Primary pencils and paper for each student
Letterboxes for each student
Set of oversized letters and letterboxes (teacher copy for board demonstration)
Plastic letters for each student (b, c, g, h, i, k, l, m, p, r, s, t, w, )
Picture of “icky sticky” (child with glue on hands)
White paper for each student
Crayons
Picture page with illustrations (pig, duck, bed, hill, twig, bib, fish, pan, witch, wizard)
 
Procedures:
 
1. “It is very important in reading to know the sounds that different letters make. Today we are going to learn a fun way to remember when i says /i/ in a word.  Has anyone ever gotten glue stuck on their fingers? What sound did you make when you had glue stuck on you? That’s right! You said /i/ck! That is the sound that the short I makes.  Let’s all pretend that we have glue on our fingers.  Remember to make the sound as try to  rub the glue off of your fingers! /i/!! Good job! One other way to remember the sound is to say the words “icky stick” (Show picture) as you are doing it.  Let’s all try it together. “Icky Sticky!!” Great work, class!”
 
2. “Now let’s look at a tongue twister.  Let’s read it together.  (Lizzy the lizard lived in its igloo.) Great! This time when we say it, lets stretch out the /i/ sound, and make the ‘icky sticky’ hand motion.  (Li-i-i-izzy the li-i-i-izard li-i-i-ived i-i-n i-i-ts i-i-i-igloo.) Good job!”     
 
3. Have the students tell if they hear the /i/ sound in different words.  “Do you hear /i/ in stand or sit? slurp or sip? big or small?         
 
4.“Now that we all know how to make the /i/ sound (do “icky sticky with fingers), we are going to practice writing the letter i.  Everyone needs to take out a piece of primary paper and a pencil.  Watch and model what I am doing (model on the board with lines that match their paper).  We start at the fence and go down to the sidewalk.  Then, pick up your pencil and give him a dot just about the fence.  Do that 9 more times on your paper while I walk around and check. 
 
5. “Take out your letters and letterboxes.  Spread the letters out on your desk so that you can see each letter clearly.  (Use the big model taped on the board so that everyone can see the boxes and the letters.) Now, we are going to spell words that have the /i/ sound in them.  Remember to put only one sound in each box.  Watch me as I spell the word dig.  D-d-d-i-i-i-g-g-g/  Sometimes it helps to say the word out loud so I can hear all of the sounds.  The first sound I hear in dig is /d/.    So, I am going to put the d in the first box.  What is the second sound I hear? (Do the “icky stick”) Correct! I hear the /i/ sound.  So, I’ll put the i in the next box.  The last sound I hear is /g/, and so I put the g in the last box.  Let’s read our word.  D-i-g. Good job! We have just spelled the word dig! Let’s give you a try now and see if you can spell these words that have /i/ in them.  Use your letters and letterboxes to spell these words: 2 phonemes: it. 3: ship, bit, him, pig. 4: list, twig, milk. 5: crisp, split.  (Tell the students how many boxes they will need to use for each set of words.) We’re ready to practice reading and spelling our words with the /i/ sound.  Do your best to spell them just the way I showed you.  When you are finished, raise your hand and I will come check your work!”
 
6. Pass out copies of Liz Is Six to each student.  “Today we are going to read a story called Liz Is Six.  This book is about Liz, a little girl who is having a birthday party.  One of the presents she gets is a mitt.  She and her friend, a pig, play a game of softball with Liz’s new mitt.  It is a very close game and we are going to have to read the book to find out who wins!” Have the students read on their own.  If a student encounters a problem reading, instruct students to raise his or her hand and wait for the teacher’s assistance.  When they are finished reading, ask the students what words they read that had the /i/ sound in them.  Write the words on the board. 
 
Assessment:  Pass out the picture page and name each picture together as a group.  Read the names of the pictures on the page with the class.  Have the students circle the pictures that have the /i/ sound.  For other assessments, the teacher could have each child come up to the teacher's desk individually and read Liz is Six.  Their reading could be assessed by taking a running record. 

References:
 
Melton, Shealy.  The Glue is Sticky!! (Beginning Reading) http://www.auburn.edu/rdggenie/connect/meltonbr.html
 
Murray, B.A. & Lesniak, T (1999).  The Letterbox Lesson: A hands-on approach for teaching decoding.  The Reading Teacher, 52, 644-650. 
 
(1990).  Phonics Reader Short Vowel, Liz Is Six.  Carson, CA (USA): Educational Insights. 


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