Short i Lesson Plans UFLI Foundations • Lesson 36
Short /ĭ/ Four-Day Instructional Plan
Teacher Guide
Target: CVC Decoding & Fluency
Target Grapheme: i → /ĭ/
Articulatory Gesture: Lips relaxed, tongue mid-high
Key Heart Words: is, his, with, said
Fluency Benchmark: 30-40+ WCPM
DAY 1: Sound Introduction & Word Blending (30 Min)
1. Phonemic Awareness (5m)
Phoneme Isolation: Teacher says words (itch, in, pig, dip, sun, tip ). Students give thumbs up when hearing initial or medial /ĭ/. Teacher articulates mouth position: lips relaxed, slightly parted, tongue mid-high.
2. Visual & Auditory Drill (5m)
Display sound cards: a, m, s, t, p, f, n, d, c, o, b, g, e, i . Prompt: "Letter says?" → Students chorally respond with sounds. Review sky-writing lowercase i : "Down, pick up, dot."
3. Blending Drill (10m)
Use continuous blending slide: /s/ /ĭ/ /t/ → sit; /p/ /ĭ/ /g/ → pig; /f/ /ĭ/ /n/ → fin; /r/ /ĭ/ /p/ → rip. Guide finger sweep left to right. Contrast minimal pairs: sat / sit, pat / pit, bet / bit .
4. Decodable Practice 1 (10m)
Introduce Passage 1: Pip the Big Pig . Echo read first two lines; choral read paragraphs 1-2. Highlight all short i words with yellow highlighter before paired practice.
DAY 2: Word Chaining & Guided Reading (30 Min)
1. Phoneme Manipulation (5m)
Sound substitution: "Say pin . Change /p/ to /w/ → win . Change /n/ to /g/ → wig . Change /ĭ/ to /ă/ → wag ." Reinforce that vowel sound changes meaning completely.
2. Word Chaining (10m)
Students use magnetic letter boards or whiteboards. Chain 1: pit → pin → pan → fan → fin → fit → hit. Chain 2: sip → rip → rim → dim → dig → pig → pit.
3. Dictation Sentences (5m)
Dictate sentence: "Tim can sit on the big rim." Steps: 1) Teacher says sentence; 2) Students repeat and count words (7); 3) Students write; 4) Check capitalization and punctuation.
4. Decodable Practice 2 (10m)
Read Passage 2: Tim and His Tin Ship . Conduct 1-minute partner read trials (partner counts words read correctly). Answer quick-check text-dependent questions in pairs.
UFLI Foundations Companion • Lesson 36 Page 1 of 2
UFLI Foundations • Lesson 36
Days 3 & 4: Fluency & Assessment
Mastery Phase
DAY 3: Text Fluency & Heart Words (30 Min)
1. Heart Word Drill (5m)
Examine irregular high-frequency words: is (phonetic /ĭ/, irregular /z/), his , with (voiced /th/). Use heart-mapping cards: tap sounds, identify the "heart part" memorized by heart.
2. Sentence Fluency Drill (8m)
Read decodable sentence strips with scooping marks for prosody: "The pig / did dig / in the mud." • "Six kids / had a big mit / in the pit." Coach students on reading in phrases rather than robotic word-by-word.
3. Decodable Practice 3 (12m)
Read Passage 3: The Kid with the Big Mitt . Routine: 1) Whisper read individually while teacher conducts roving checks; 2) Choral read for expression; 3) Partner repeated reading trial 1 and trial 2.
4. Formative Encoding (5m)
Rapid whiteboard write: Teacher says 4 words (rim, hid, fin, six ). Students tap sound fingers (thumb-index-middle), then write promptly.
DAY 4: Independent Reading & Exit Assessment (30 Min)
1. Review & Warm-up (5m)
Quick review of Passage 4: Six Pins in the Big Pit . Whole-class read-around. Check for automatic recognition of high-utility /ĭ/ words.
2. Exit Ticket Protocol (20m)
Step A (Independent): Students read the unseen long decodable passage (Fin and Pip Win Big ) and answer the 5 text-dependent comprehension questions.Step B (1-on-1 Stations): Teacher calls individual students for the 10-Word Verbal Decoding Check (approx. 60 seconds per student) to assess real-time phoneme blending and automaticity.
3. Reflection & Wrap-up (5m)
Collect exit tickets. Students color their sound mastery badge for /ĭ/.
Targeted Differentiation Strategies
Tier 2 Support (Blending)
Use tactile Elkonin sound boxes with counters. Slide finger under felt dots. Pre-teach vowel contrast /ă/ vs /ĭ/ using mirror articulation.
ELL / Multilingual Support
Provide picture cards for unfamiliar nouns (mitt, rim, pit, tin ). Emphasize short i tongue height to distinguish from long /ē/ sound.
Extension / Advanced
Have students write two original sentences using short i words from the passage. Add short i blends (slip, drip, grin, swim ).
UFLI Foundations Companion • Lesson 36 Page 2 of 2
Short i Presentation Slides UFLI Foundations • Lesson 36 Phonics & Fluency Mastery
Sound Safari
Target Vowel Sound
Short Vowel /ĭ/ as in Igloo
Listen closely for the quick, crisp sound in words like pig, sit, win, and dip!
Phoneme Isolation & Articulation
Slide 1 of 6
How We Make the Sound Articulatory Awareness
i
Letter: i Sound: /ĭ/
Lips Relaxed
Slight smile, parted gently without stretching wide.
Tongue Mid-High
Front of tongue raises slightly toward the roof of mouth.
Voice Box On!
Touch your throat — feel the vocal cords vibrating.
Gesture Prompt: Scratch your chin like an itchy insect! Slide 2 of 6
Blending Drill Continuous Sound-by-Sound Blending
s
i
t
Blend: sit
p
i
g
Blend: pig
f
i
n
Blend: fin
w
i
n
Blend: win
Finger Sweep: Don't stop between sounds — sing it through! Slide 3 of 6
Word Chaining Ladder Change One Sound at a Time!
Start pit
change /t/→/n/ pin
change /ĭ/→/ă/ pan
change /p/→/f/ fan
change /ă/→/ĭ/ fin
Notice how changing the vowel changes the whole word!
pit → pin → pan → fan → fin
Whiteboard Activity: Erase and swap only the letter that changes. Slide 4 of 6
Heart Word Spotlight Learn the Tricky Parts by Heart
Heart Word
is
Sound 1: /ĭ/ (Regular)
Sound 2: /z/ ♥ Heart part!
Heart Word
his
Sounds 1-2: /h/ /ĭ/ (Regular)
Sound 3: /z/ ♥ Heart part!
High-Utility Word
with
Sounds 1-2: /w/ /ĭ/ (Regular)
Digraph: /th/ (Voiced)
Practice in Sentences: "Tim is with his pig." Slide 5 of 6
Daily Reading Routine Fluency Passage Steps
Short i Fluency Passages Name:
Date:
Day 1 Decodable Practice
Pip the Big Pig
UFLI Lesson 36 • Target Sound: /ĭ/
Total Words: 88
Pip is a pig. Pip is a big, big pig. [10]
Pip can sit in the pit. The pit has mud in it. [22]
Pip did dig and dig in the pit. [30]
The mud is on his lip and on his tip. [40]
Can Pip fit in the tub? Pip ran to the tub. [51]
Pip did dip his big hip in the tub. [60]
Tim had a rag to fix the mud. [68]
Tim said, “Pip, do not sit! Let me rub the mud.” [80]
Pip did sit. Pip is a glad pig! [88]
Fluency Timer (1 Minute)
Read 1 (Cold): _____ WCPM
Read 2 (Partner): _____ WCPM
Read 3 (Hot): _____ WCPM
Quick Check
1. Where did Pip dig?
in the pit in the bed on a log
2. What did Pip dip in the tub?
Passage 1 of 4 • Daily Practice Passages UFLI Lesson 36
Name:
Date:
Day 2 Decodable Practice
Tim and His Tin Ship
UFLI Lesson 36 • Target Sound: /ĭ/
Total Words: 94
Tim has a ship. It is a big tin ship. [10]
Tim will set the ship on the rim of the pit. [22]
Can the ship tip? Tim said, “Do not tip!” [32]
A fat pig did run by the tin ship. [41]
The pig did hit the rim. The ship did flip! [51]
The ship fell in the mud. Tim had to dig. [61]
Tim did dig and dig to get his tin ship. [72]
He did fix the fin with a small pin. [82]
The ship did not rip. Tim is glad to win! [94]
Fluency Timer (1 Minute)
Read 1 (Cold): _____ WCPM
Read 2 (Partner): _____ WCPM
Read 3 (Hot): _____ WCPM
Quick Check
1. What kind of ship does Tim have?
tin ship red ship big bus
2. How did Tim fix the fin?
Passage 2 of 4 • Daily Practice Passages UFLI Lesson 36
Name:
Date:
Day 3 Decodable Practice
The Kid with the Big Mitt
UFLI Lesson 36 • Target Sound: /ĭ/
Total Words: 98
Kit is a kid. Kit has a big red mitt. [10]
Kit can hit and Kit can fit the mitt on. [21]
Kit ran to the pit with his pal Jim. [31]
Jim has a bat. Jim said, “Kit, get set!” [41]
Jim did hit the ball. The ball did zip fast! [52]
Short i Exit Ticket UFLI Foundations • Lesson 36
Short /ĭ/ Summative Exit Assessment
Exit Ticket
Part 1: Verbal • Parts 2-3: Text & Questions
Student Name:
Date:
Part 1 (Verbal) ____ / 10
Part 2 (WCPM) ____ WCPM
Part 3 (Comp) ____ / 5
PART 1: 10-Word Verbal Decoding Check (Real & Nonsense Words)
Student View (Point & Read Aloud) Teacher prompts: “Some words are real and some are make-believe. Read each word across.”
1 pin
2 sit
3 dig
4 rib
5 win
6 fit
7 • nonsense mip
8 • nonsense zib
9 • nonsense tid
10 • nonsense bix
Teacher Scoring & Phonetic Analysis Record Check: ✓ Correct (1 pt) • SC Self-Correct • ✗ Error
# Target Word Phoneme Breakdown Sound-by-Sound Whole Word Score 1 pin (Real) /p/ /ĭ/ /n/ ___ / 1 2 sit (Real) /s/ /ĭ/ /t/ ___ / 1 3 dig (Real) /d/ /ĭ/ /g/ ___ / 1 4 rib (Real) /r/ /ĭ/ /b/ ___ / 1 5 win (Real) /w/ /ĭ/ /n/ ___ / 1 6 fit (Real) /f/ /ĭ/ /t/ ___ / 1 7 mip (Nonsense) /m/ /ĭ/ /p/ ___ / 1 8 zib (Nonsense) /z/ /ĭ/ /b/ ___ / 1 9 tid (Nonsense) /t/ /ĭ/ /d/ ___ / 1 10 bix (Nonsense) /b/ /ĭ/ /k/ /s/ ___ / 1
Scoring Rubric: • 9-10 pts: Mastered / Pure decodable automaticity • 7-8 pts: Emerging (struggles with nonsense words) • ≤ 6 pts: Intensive Intervention (Tier 2)
Why Nonsense Words? Words 7-10 test pure phoneme-grapheme decoding ability, preventing reliance on visual guessing or prior word memory.
Short i Scoring Guide UFLI Foundations • Lesson 36
Exit Ticket Scoring Guide & Key
Teacher Master Key
Evaluation & Remediation Guide
Part 1: 10-Word Verbal Decoding Check — Real & Nonsense Words Key
Target Words & Correct Phonemes
1. pin [Real] → /p/ /ĭ/ /n/
2. sit [Real] → /s/ /ĭ/ /t/
3. dig [Real] → /d/ /ĭ/ /g/
4. rib [Real] → /r/ /ĭ/ /b/
5. win [Real] → /w/ /ĭ/ /n/
6. fit [Real] → /f/ /ĭ/ /t/
7. mip [Nonsense] → /m/ /ĭ/ /p/
8. zib [Nonsense] → /z/ /ĭ/ /b/
9. tid [Nonsense] → /t/ /ĭ/ /d/
10. bix [Nonsense] → /b/ /ĭ/ /k/ /s/
Nonsense Word Diagnostic Insight
Nonsense words (7–10) isolate pure decoding from whole-word sight memorization.
Mastery (9-10/10): Smooth automaticity on both real and pseudo-words.
Memory-Reliant (6 real / 0-2 pseudo): Student relies on sight vocabulary; needs continuous blending work.
Intervention (≤6/10): Re-teach /ĭ/ articulatory gesture and tactile sound boxes.
*Self-corrections within 3 seconds earn full credit.
Part 2: Passage 5 Fluency Benchmarks (108 Words)
Calculation Formula
WCPM = Total Words Read − Errors in 60 sec
Grade 1 Target
Target: 30 – 40+ WCPM with ≥95% accuracy on controlled text.
Prosody Indicator
Reads in 2-3 word phrases; pauses at periods; expression on dialogue.
Part 3: Comprehension Questions Answer Key (5 Points Total)
1
Who is Fin in the story? → Option A: A big fish (1 pt)
Text Evidence: Line 1 (“Fin is a big fish with a quick fin.”)
2
What item fell into the water? → Option A: A red tin cup (1 pt)
Text Evidence: Line 3 (“Pip did tip the cup. The tin cup fell in with a plop!”)
3
How did Fin push the cup back up? → Option A: Flipped his tail and hit it (1 pt)
Text Evidence: Line 5 (“Fin did flip his tail and hit it.”)
4
What did Pip use to catch the cup? → Accept: “his mitt” / “a mitt” (1 pt)
Text Evidence: Line 6 (“Pip got the cup in his mitt.” Accept phonetic spelling:
