Letter Ii

Activities   Songs and Poems   Sing Along Song 1 or 2


The letter-sound we are studying this week is "I i" as in "Indian" and "igloo." Here are some activities you can do with your child at home to reinforce the concepts and experiences presented in school.

1. Make an Indian headband. Cut a 2" strip of paper that can go around your child's head. Your child may cut out a feather for the headband and also color designs on it.

2. Go on an "I i" letter hunt in newspapers and magazines. Cut them out and glue them on the feather. Then look through magazines to find pictures of things beginning like "Indian" and glue them on the headband. Since these pictures may be hard to find, your child may draw them on the headband.

3. Listen to the 3 words in each group.
Which word begins with the short "I i" sound as in "Indian?"

book, iguana, cat         insect, ant, elf
initial, pig, boot         cow, instrument, bee
soup, fork, ink          boy, coat, inside
itch, car, door          soap, it, bed

4. Play "In and Out." Pronounce a series of words, some of which begin with the short sound of "I i" and some with other beginning sounds. If the pronounced word begins with the sound of "I i" as in "Indian," your child is to turn his thumbs "in." If the word begins with another sound, he/she turns his/her thumbs "out."

bear, inch, dog, it, insect, elf, initial, in, ant, car, if, hat, ink, boat, igloo, infant, inside, bat, itch, goat, Indian, foot, imp, cat, instrument...

5. A word guessing game:
All the words you guess should begin with the "I i" sound.

a. The house made of blocks of snow that some Eskimos live in is called an ______. (igloo)
b. The opposite of out is ___________. (in)
c. There are 12 of these on a foot-long ruler. __________ (inches)
d. The members of the band play __________. (instruments)
e. When it is raining outside, we have to play __________. (inside)

6. Indian Vest: By cutting neck and arm openings and cutting up the front, a large brown paper grocery bag can be made into a simple but effective vest. Paint or color and cut fringe on the bottom. Indian Necklace: Macaroni, cheerios and straw pieces can be laced onto a piece of yarn to wear as a necklace with your headband and vest.

7. Show your child how to make "I i" this way:

I: Make a straight line from top to bottom. Make a line from left to right on the top and another line from left to right on the bottom.
i: Make a straight line from top to bottom then put a dot on top.


Songs and Poems

10 Little Indians
Traditional

1 little, 2 little, 3 little Indians
4 little, 5 little, 6 little Indians,
7 little, 8 little, 9 little Indians,
10 little Indians boys.

10 little, 9 little, 8 little Indians
7 little, 6 little, 5 little Indians,
4 little, 3 little, 2 little Indians,
1 little Indian girl.

*****

The Short Ii Song
Tune: London Bridge
A Sing Along and Spell Song
by Mrs. Jones

I am learning letter Ii,
Letter Ii, letter Ii.
I am learning letter Ii.
Ii, Ii, Ii, Ii.
(make the sound of short Ii)

Iguana starts with letter Ii,
letter Ii, letter Ii,
Iguana starts with letter Ii,
Ii, Ii, Ii, Ii.

Insects start with letter Ii,
letter Ii, letter Ii,
Insects start with letter Ii,
Ii, Ii, Ii, Ii.

"It" is spel-led i - t
I - t,    i - t.
"It" is spel-led i - t
It, it, it, it.

"Is" is spel-led i - s
I - s,    i - s.
"Is" is spel-led i - s
Is, is, is, is.

"In" is spelled i - n
I - n,    i - n.
"In" is spel-led i - n
In, in, in, in.

"If" is spel-led i - f
I - f,    i - f.
"If" is spel-led i - f
If, if, if, if.

Can your child think up more things that begin with short Ii?

*****

The Long Ii Song
Tune: Mary Had a Little Lamb
written by Mrs. Jones

I am learning letter Ii,
Letter Ii, letter Ii.
I am learning letter Ii.
Ii, Ii, Ii, Ii, Ii.
(sing the sound of long Ii)

Iceberg starts with letter Ii...
Iron starts with letter Ii...
Ice skates start with letter Ii...
Ice cream starts with letter Ii...
Icicles start with letter Ii...

*****

Miss Ida
Tune: B-I-N-G-O
Lois Thompson
Miss Ida's name is pronounced with a short i sound.

Miss Ida is an Indian
who walked through poison ivy-o
/i/ /i/ /i/ /i/ itch
/i/ /i/ /i/ /i/ itch
/i/ /i/ /i/ /i/ itch
Who walked through poison ivy-o!

*****

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