The name of the letter “i” – silent “e” and “I am/can”
The silent “e” makes the /i/ say its name, /I/. Can you exercise like these circus performers? (Video 1)
hike, bike, ride, smile – How is he going to get home when he is so tired? (Video 2)
Practise reading and spelling i_e words in as many ways as possible, e.g., make them with letter cards. Add and remove the silent “e” on the end. What difference does it make? Nonsense words are good to use because children have to practise “sounding out” skills to read them. (Video 3)
Children often confuse uppercase “i” (I) and lowercase “L” (l), particularly in fonts that don’t have serifs, the small lines across the top and bottom of letters. When “I” makes a word all by itself, it gets lonely and says, “Hello. My name is ‘I’.” This removes a lot of the confusion between them.
Always be ready to adapt ideas. Write “I”, “am” and “can” on cards, plus any suitable words that your child can read, e.g. hop, run, jump, skip, clap, wink, hide, hot, sad… Cut out or draw pictures for words that use letter-sound correspondences that have not been taught yet, e.g. sing, swing, walk, climb, asleep, strong, cold, warm, happy … Get your child to make up sentences with them. To avoid confusion, use capital “I” with serifs, at least initially. (Video 4)
Click on the bottom right hand corner of each video to see it full screen. If you have trouble seeing the videos try i_e, Phonic Comic 2/4, i_e words and 2 sounds of s, I am/can
All illustrations for Phonic Comic books © A. H. M. Wherrett, 2004.
Thanks to PopEyed for permission to film exercise.
To see the other videos go to Videos for Children
Print the book easy 2-04 back-to-back on A4 paper, cut across the centre on the line, assemble, fold and staple.
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