3.5 Explicitly Teach 'igh'

Flash cards are a quick, effective way to build automaticity and reinforce what students already know. In this video, literacy coach Elizabeth Hogan, M.Ed., demonstrates how to warm up with the 'igh' flash card to help that spelling pattern stick. 

Say,

What ways have we learned to spell the long 'i' sound? 

Students wil tell you that they now about the open syllable long 'i' and the long 'i' in a magic 'e' syllable.  

You'll respond with, 

Yes! Today we are going to learn a new way to represent the long 'i' sound.

Show students the keyword picture card for 'igh'.

Point to the picture of the light on the card. Say, 

Say, 

Listen to what we'll say when we see this card: 

'i', 'g', 'h', light, /ī/.

Say and have students repeat, 

'i', 'g', 'h', light, /ī/.

On the board, write the word high. Ask, 

What is the vowel team that you see? ['igh'] Yes, and remember we said that 'igh' makes the long 'i' sound.

Say, 

Let's make the sounds and read the word. /h/, /ī/, high. The roller coaster goes very high.

Say,

Today, we will read and spell words that have the vowel team 'igh'.

Using your flash card deck with letters only (no pictures), pull out these cards: 'igh', 's', 'th', 't', 'r', 'n', 'l', 'f', and 'm'. Get the cards with 'igh' and 's' and arrange them to spell the word sigh (in a pocket chart or on your white board with magnets).

Say, 

What is the vowel team? ['igh'] What sound will it make? [/ī/] Now let's tap and blend.

Along with the students, tap /s/, /ī/ and then blend to read the word sigh. 

Say, 

Sigh is when you let out a long, deep breath, usually when you feel tired, sad, relieved, or frustrated. 

Continue using the letter cards to build the following words and play a word chaining game. Tap out sounds and blend words as needed. Be sure to discuss word meanings all along the way.

Words to Build: sigh - thigh - sight - right - night - light - fight - flight - might

When it's time to teach, we encourage you to use this research-based lesson plan (opens in new window) to teach the vowel team 'igh'. It's ready to print and use in your classroom right away!

Watch literacy coach literacy coach Elizabeth Hogan, M.Ed., demonstrate how to warm up with the 'igh' flash card to help that spelling pattern stick.