Lesson 23: Poetry & Vowel Study (Sounds of i and y)

SPELLING & PHONICS

STANDARD: RF.2.3 / RF.3.3 • POETRY • SOUNDS OF I AND Y • SILENT LETTERS

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Phonological Study: Contrast long ī and ȳ (/aɪ/) with the short ĭ sound of y in unstressed syllables (sunny, noisy). Detect silent letters in Mary Howitt's poem.

POETRY • SOUNDS OF I & Y

1. Copy the following carefully.

Read the poem aloud with rhythmic expression, then transcribe each line neatly on the guidelines:

See! the lark is soaring high

In the bright and sunny sky.

In the elms — a noisy crowd!

All the birds are singing loud;

And the first white butterfly

In the sunshine dances by.

— MARY HOWITT

Mark each y or i which has the long sound:

Put a macron ( ¯ ) over the letter with long sound /aɪ/:

h i g h → hgh b r i g h t → brght s k y → sk

w h i t e → whte b u t t e r f l y → butterfl

s u n s h i n e → sunshne b y → b

3. Find a word in which y has the sound of short i:

Word 1:

Word 2:

(Hint: Look for 2-syllable words ending in -y that rhyme with each other).

Phonological Discovery Question: Silent Letters

What silent letters do you find in the above lines?

In high and bright, the silent letters are:

In white and sunshine, the silent letter is:

💡 PHONICS & SPELLING RULES TO REMEMBER

📌 1. Long Sounds of 'i' and 'y'

Both letters i and y make long /aɪ/. In high, bright, long ī pairs with silent gh. In white, sunshine, silent e marks long ī. In sky, by, butterfly, ȳ is long!

📌 2. 'y' as Short ĭ in Endings

At the end of two-syllable words (sunny, noisy), unstressed y makes the short ĭ sound (/ɪ/ or /i/). Notice the contrast in sunny sky: short ĭ in sunny, long ȳ in sky!

📌 3. Silent Letters 'gh' and 'e'

In high and bright, the letters gh make no sound (silent gh). In white and sunshine, the final letter e is silent, signaling the preceding vowel to say its long name!

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