Blending with the short "i" sound

Blending with the short "i" sound follows the same patterns and mechanics as the other short vowel sounds. Children are oftentimes able to better remember the sound if it is associated with an action, much like wrinkling up your nose for short "a" and spreading a smile across your upper teeth for short "e". With short "i", have the student hunch up his/her shoulders in a brief shrug for the quick sound of short "i". The sound is not prolonged, so the quick movement reminds the student to be quick with the sound of the letter. Practice saying some of the short "i" words for practice with the shoulder movement, giving an example and having the student repeat the word. A good way to start is with b-i-g, d-i-g, p-i-n, f-i-n. Say each of the letter sounds individually to hear the sounds alone. Then blend the sounds together and get the student to add to the pattern words with words of his/her own.


When the student seems to have the sound of the short "i" fairly mastered, then 3x5 cards with short "i" words printed on them can be introduced. Use the flashcards to practice reading the words with short "i" patterns. When the student is getting very comfortable with the patterns, then bring back the cards with short "a" and short "e" sounds to mix up the sounds. If the student does not seem to be comfortable, continue to practice with one sound pattern at a time until the learner handles the one sound to mastery, before mixing the patterns. A list of short "i" words follows:





fit---tin---dip---bit---win---rip---six---pin---sit---fin---big---pig---nip---tip---fix---pit---sip---fig---then introduce:





flip---grin---slit---trip---drip---brig---spin---spit---snip---slip--- grip---grit---drift---gift---lift---twin





After the learner has been successful with reading the words separately, have the student choose words from any of the flashcards for the vowel sounds and use the words in sentences. Eventually, have the learner take a card and write a sentence using the word on the card. The student will be able to start using more and more of the words correctly in writing. Using the flashcards to build sentences in front of the learner is also a good practice, but requires that you supply articles and prepositions to complete a sentence using the cards, id.est.
I will flip the cap and the nest into the big, wet, drift.

The learner will become more comfortable each time the cards are used, so that when mastery has been achieved, the student will no longer require the flashcards to spark response. Two more vowels, and then the dipthongs will be introduced as well. Hopefully, interruptions to the blog will no longer factor into the consistency of the material.