BackBright Hub EducationBrowse

Let's Learn About the Letter I with this Preschool Letter Lesson

By Melissa Elizondo

Learning the alphabet is a major milestone for a preschooler. Use these preschool lesson plans to teach your preschool class about the letter I. Your class will love the fun activities that allow them to get creative as they learn to recognize the letter and the sounds that it makes.

Use these teaching ideas for the letter I as part of an alphabet unit or on its own. After teaching these preschool lessons with the letter I, your students will be able to recognize the letter and be able to identify words that start with it.


Alpha Tales (Letter I: Iguana on Ice) by Carol Pugliano-Martin

Chart paper

Construction paper (12x18)

Finger paint

Old magazines and grocery ads


Blunt scissors

Glue or glue sticks

Printed page with alphabet letters

Shaving cream (optional)

Prior Knowledge

Write the letter I on chart paper. Write both the upper and lower case versions of the letter so that students can get used to seeing both versions. Ask students if they can identify the letter and if they know what sound the letter makes. Talk about how it makes two sounds and practice making both sounds together.


Practice making the letter I together. Have students draw it in the air. Show students the cover of Alpha Tales. Have them make predictions based on the cover. Read the story stopping to point out the words that start with the letter and stopping to discuss what is going on in the story. When you are finished reading, have students recall words that started with the letter from the story. Write down the word and draw a picture on the piece of chart paper where you wrote the letter I. See if students can come up with any additional words.

Next, allow students time to practice making the letter I. You can do this several different ways. One fun, tactile way for them to practice making it is to use shaving cream. Simply give each student some shaving cream and then let them trace the letter into the shaving cream over and over. If you use shaving cream, be sure to remind students not to put their fingers near their eyes or mouth. Also remind them that shaving cream is not food. You can also use crayons and paper instead.


Explain that today students will be making letter I pictures, like what you did with the chart paper. Pass out the construction paper and the finger paint. Make sure that you use non-toxic finger paint, and remind students not to eat this paint. You can even make your own finger paint. Have students paint the letter on their construction paper. Pick them up and allow them to dry. Make sure that the students’ names are on the back.

After the paint has dried, pass the magazines and ads out along with the scissors and glue. Be sure to remind students about the safety rules when using scissors. Have students find items that start with I and cut and paste them to their painted pictures. You can also have students draw pictures of things that start with the letter instead of cutting and pasting.

Once the pictures are finished, use them as hallway decorations or as a bulletin board display. A great bulletin board title would be, “Learn about the Letter I.”


Pass out a piece of paper with three different letters, including the letter I. Have students circle the letter I and draw a picture of something that starts with the letter on the back.


Take advantage of these teaching ideas for the letter I, and make a letter big book using chart paper. Have students take turns bringing in an item from home that starts with the letter I. Add a picture of each item to the book as students bring them in.

These preschool lesson plans the letter I will teach your class all about the letter. You can also teach about the entire alphabet using an alphabet lesson plan from Bright Hub!