Helping English Learners with Short 'i' and Short 'e'

Estella Escajeda: Okay, you ready, boys and girls? Today we're going to be talking about the short 'i' and the short 'e'. Okay.

Narrator: Teacher Estella Escajeda is helping her multilingual third graders hear and produce the very subtle difference between the short 'i' sound and the short 'e' sound.

Estella Escajeda: So here we have the /ĭ/ as in itch, and then we have the /ĕ/ as in edge, like if you're at the edge of something, right? So, the /ĭ/ and the /ĕ/. Can somebody tell me, what do you notice? What do you see? Maritza?

Maritza: They're close together. [She answers in Spanish.]

Estella Escajeda: They're close together. That is correct. Do you guys notice? Look at the Vowel Valley.

Narrator: Maritza is comfortable answering in her home language, Spanish. That's because Ms. Escajeda encourages children to use all of their language resources to tackle the complex process of learning to read in English.

Estella Escajeda: So everybody, put your fingers next to your lips. Say /ĭ/ ...

Students: /ĭ/ ...

Estella Escajeda: Say /ĕ/ ...

Students: /ĕ/ ...

Estella Escajeda: What did you notice? What did you feel? Maria Eugenia?

Maria Eugenia: [The student answers the question in Spanish.]

Narrator: Ms. Escajeda provides her students with a bridge from Spanish to English by talking explicitly about the connections between the two languages.

Estella Escajeda: If you notice, when we hear /ĭ/, do we also hear it in Spanish? One of our vowels. Everybody say, icky ...

Students: icky ...

Estella Escajeda: What do you hear in the beginning?

Students: /ĭ/ ...

Estella Escajeda: Say echo.

Students: "echo" ...

Estella Escajeda: Say echo with your opera voice.

Students: echo ...

Estella Escajeda: Yes. You hear the difference? Good job.

Narrator: Next up, they'll use their new skills to take on dictation ... spelling words with short 'i' and short 'e'.

Estella Escajeda: Get your magnetic letters ready and you're going to get your boards ready.

Narrator: If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUTeaching. For more information, please visit ReadingUniverse.org. Special thanks to Loma Linda Elementary School, Vado Elementary School, the Gadsden Independent School District, and the New Mexico Public Education Department. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale, the American Federation of Teachers, The Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and anonymous donors. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington, D.C., The Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.