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Letter I Worksheets

4 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Trace uppercase I and lowercase i, trace the words insect, iguana and inchworm, and circle every I and i in a letter hunt.

Down, slide on top and bottom.

How to form uppercase I
Next Jj

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Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

More letters

Alphabet packets A–Z

About these letter I worksheets

These letter I worksheets cover uppercase I, lowercase i, the words insect, iguana and inchworm, and a letter hunt with an answer key. In all three words, I makes its short sound, /i/, as in itch. The long sound, the one that matches the letter’s name, comes later in words like ice.

Both forms of I are quick to write, so the real work is in the details. Capital I has a bar across the top and bottom so it doesn’t look like a lowercase l or the number 1. Lowercase i is a short line from the dashed midline to the baseline with a small dot above, and many kindergartners want to make that dot a big circle.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.L.K.1.APrint many upper- and lowercase letters.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.1.DRecognize and name all upper- and lowercase letters of the alphabet.

How to use them

  1. On the uppercase page, have your child draw the down line first, then the top bar, then the bottom bar.
  2. Before the lowercase page, practice dots: a small, quick tap of the pencil, not a circle. Then trace each i: line down, lift, dot.
  3. Trace insect, iguana and inchworm. Stretch the /i/ at the start of each word, then wiggle a finger across the table like an inchworm.
  4. Use the letter hunt last and check the count with the answer key.

Teaching tips for I

  • Uppercase I: start at the top line and pull down straight to the baseline. Lift and slide right along the top line. Lift and slide right along the baseline. Both bars should be centered on the line. Say it while writing: “1. Pull down. Lift. 2. Slide right. Lift. 3. Slide right.”
  • Lowercase i: start at the dashed midline and pull down straight to the baseline. Lift and make a small dot above, about halfway between the midline and the top line. Say it while writing: “1. Pull down. Lift. 2. Dot.”
  • Common mix-ups: I, l and 1 looking the same, dots drawn as big circles or hearts, and dots placed far off to one side.
  • Quick activities: paint i’s with a cotton swab, making each dot with one tap; play I spy with short i words like pig, fish and lid.

Questions about letter I

Why does capital I have lines on the top and bottom?

Without them, capital I is a single straight line that is hard to tell from lowercase l and the number 1. The bars make the three easy to tell apart, which is why many US classrooms teach the barred I.

My child makes huge circles for the dot on i. Does it matter?

A little. Big circles take time and can bump into the line above. Teach the dot as a quick tap and praise small ones. It is a habit worth setting now, before your child writes longer words with several i’s.

Why are the words on this page short i words?

Short i is the sound kindergartners meet first in reading, in words like it, in and big. The long i in ice and kite usually comes in first grade, once children are reading words with a silent e.