125+ Short I Words (Free Printable List)
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Learn all about teaching the short i sound to students, and get a free printable list that includes 125 short i words, organized alphabetically by word family.
All About Short I
The letter i can represent multiple sounds, including short or long sounds. When the letter I represents it’s short sound, it will spell /ĭ/ – the sound you hear at the beginning of ‘igloo.’
The letter i can also represent two long vowel sounds, long e and long i.
Short i words include:
- inch
- itch
- it
- pig
- chill
- stick
The /ĭ/ sound can be heard in closed-syllable words.
How to Teach Short I
The /ĭ/ sound should be the first sound associated with the letter I that is taught to children. It is the most common, and therefore should be taught first.
Children should connect this phoneme (sound) to the grapheme (letter) until it is firm. Kids can practice this sound-symbol association by reading and spelling words with the short /ĭ/ sound.
Start by using VC (vowel-consonant) words, like in, it, and if. Once they master blending VC words, they can begin practicing with CVC words.
✨If your kiddos are struggling with blending tasks, read our post that talks about the most effective and research-supported method to support your students in blending sounds.
Important: When the letter i is followed by the letter r, the vowel sound will NOT be short. If the letter r comes directly after the letter i, it will create a new phoneme, /ir/, like you hear in the word ‘bird.‘ This is called an r-controlled vowel.
Short I Words
Below we’ve listed over 125+ words that include the short i sound. All words are one syllable and organized into word families.
-ib Words
| bib | dib | fib | quib |
| ric | crib | squib |
-id Words
| bid | did | hid | kid | lid |
| rid | grid | skid | slid | squid |
-ig Words
| big | dig | fig | gig |
| jig | pig | wig | zig |
| twig | swig | sprig |
-im Words
| dim | him | Jim | Kim |
| rim | Tim | brim | grim |
| prim | skim | slim | swim |
| trim | whim |
-in Words
| bin | fin | kin | pin |
| tin | win | chin | grin |
| skin | spin | thin |
-ip Words
| dip | hip | jip | lip | nip |
| pip | rip | tip | zip | chip |
| clip | ship | trip | whip |
-it Words
| bit | fit | hit | kit |
| lit | pit | quit | sit |
| wit | grit | knit | skit |
-ill Words
| bill | dill | fill | gill | hill |
| kill | mill | pill | quill | sill |
| will | chill | drill | still | thrill |
-iss Words
| hiss | kiss | miss | bliss |
-ick Words
| hick | kick | lick | Nick | pick |
| quick | Rick | sick | tick | wick |
| brick | chick | click | stick | thick |
-ish Words
| dish | fish | wish | swish |
-isk Words
| disk | risk | brisk | frisk | whisk |
Other Short I Words
| fix | mix | nix | six | fist |
| gist | mist | twist | wrist |
Short I Activities
It’s very common for kids to confuse the short i sound, particularly with the short e sound. Students will need lots of activities for repeat exposures in order to firmly grasp and understand it.
There are lots of resources and activities we suggest for practicing decoding and encoding to firm up and master the short i sound.
👉 Blending board: Using a blending board is GREAT because it engages learners in multisensory instruction. Kids hear, see, and say the sounds, strengthening the phoneme-grapheme connection!
👉 Word Ladders: Students will connect sounds (phonemes) with their written letters (graphemes) using sounds boxes. They’ll practice phoneme manipulation, too!
👉 CVC Word Practice: Extensive practice with CVC words is essential. Get ton’s of no-prep resources with this bundle to help make your students’ practice intentional and explicit.
👉 Phonics Bingo: Gamifying any experience helps engagement and makes learning fun!
All of these activities can be used when teaching short a, e, o, and u! And don’t forget about the schwa sound, too – the most common vowel sound of all!
More Vowel Resources
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