Pinky the Pig

Casey Wilson

Beginning Reading Design


Rationale:   Short vowels are difficult phonemes for children to manipulate in words.  In this lesson, the children will learn to identify the correspondence i = /i/ in written words.  They will also learn the sound i makes by learning a meaningful representation and how to spell and read words with the i = /i/ correspondence through a letterbox lesson and by reading a book.


Materials:  primary paper, pencils, Elkonin boxes for each child, laminated letters for each child , worksheets for each child (see attached page)



  1. Discuss the letter i and the sound that it makes /i/.  .  "Does anyone know what sound the letter i makes?  That's right, /i/.  Let's listen for /i/ in this sentence:  I will write the sentence on the board. The pink pig sits in his pen .  Can someone come and point to the letter in the word pig that says /i/?  Good job.  The letter "i" is what makes the /i/ in pig.  Can someone tell me another word from our sentence that has /i/ in it? 
  2. Now I want you to listen closely to some words and tell me which word has /i/ in it. Sit or step?  Mat or mit?  Fill or fall? 
  3. Next I will begin the letterbox lesson.  "Lets take out our leter boxes and letters. Now watch me." First I will model how to place the letters i and f in the letterboxes to represent the word "if" I want to spell if so I need to figure out what letters make the sounds /i/ and /f/. Then I take away the letter boxes and say "This word is 'if.'"
    1. "Now I want you to spell it in your letterboxes using your letters.  Can anyone tell me how many boxes we need to spell it? Right, we need two boxes because there are two sounds in the word it.
    2. Continue with the letterbox lesson asking the children to spell [3] fin, ran (review word), rib [4]grip, spit, drip. 
    3. After we have completed all the words I will write each word on the board and have students read them aloud.  
  4. Introduce the book, "Liz is Six" to the class with the following introduction:  "This book is about a girl and her friend who is a pig.  One day something happens when they are playing softball.  Let's find a partner and read the book together to see what happens."
  5. Have the children pair up and read the book to each other.
  6.  For an assessment I would give a worksheet with sentences.  "Now I want you to read these sentences carefully and circle the words that have 'i' in them."

Example of Worksheet

Name _______________

Circle the words that have /i/ in them. 


1.     The big bug moved down the hill.


2. The big shark had a grey fin.


3. The kitty cat sat on the window sill.


4. The kite blew in the wind.


5. Our ribs are inside our body.




Pegues, Jennifer .  Picky Pig

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