Free printable short i phonics worksheets. Five practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, rapid naming chart, and word search.
A short, decodable story embedding short i words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.
Peg sat in the sand to dig. She had a big tin bin.
"I will fill my bin," said Peg.
She hit a rock in the sand.
"Oh no," said Peg.
Peg got up to tug on the rock. She got the rock out! Now Peg can fill her bin.
This story is part of Level 1. Get every Level 1 illustrated mini-book in one print-ready file ($14) →
The words this story set practices, in the two groups used by the word sort.
sit, hit, bit, pig, big, dig, pin, win, lip, zip, nip
zit, bim, hig, lig, rin, mib, fip, gid, vig
Short I words to read, match and write, with pictures. Each PDF has its answer key on page 2.






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4 ready-to-print PDFs for this story's short i words. Each one opens as its own file.

Cut-apart word cards to sort: Real Words or Nonsense Words. Answer key on page 2.
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More picture worksheets: beginning sounds, ending sounds, rhyming and syllables — new pictures every time you print.
A new decodable story with the same short i sounds — each comes with its own set of worksheets.
The short 'i' sound, as heard in words like "sit" and "pig," is a crucial foundational phonics pattern for kindergarteners, often introduced after short 'a'. This CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) structure is essential for early decoding. A common challenge with short 'i' is its close proximity in articulation to short 'e' and short 'u'. Young learners might confuse "pin" with "pen" or "bin" with "bun" due to subtle mouth position differences. They might also over-articulate, adding an extra schwa sound, making "dig" sound like "di-guh." Emphasizing the quick, crisp sound, almost like a tiny "ih," helps distinguish it from other vowels and prevents these common mispronunciations as they begin to read words like "kit" and "lip." Our short 'i' worksheets provide targeted practice to build fluency and accuracy. Begin with the decodable passage from "Pip's Big Fig," guiding your student to sound out each word, focusing on that distinct 'ih' sound. The word sort activity helps them categorize words like "win" and "rip," reinforcing the pattern visually and phonetically. Use the phrasing cards to practice reading short 'i' words in meaningful groups, improving reading rhythm and comprehension. Finally, the Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) chart is excellent for building speed and automaticity with our target words such as "tin," "zip," and "fig," allowing students to recognize these high-frequency short 'i' words instantly.
For more early literacy resources, explore our sight word flashcards, tracing worksheets, handwriting worksheets, and coloring pages.