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I Words for Kids

Are you interested in some I words for kids? Well, I’ve included an insightful amount of incredible words for you to look though.

I is the ninth letter in the alphabet and is one of the vowels in the English language. From ice cream to insects, this letter gives us increasing amounts of interesting and intriguing words to add to our vocabulary.

Throughout this post you will find words that begin with I for preschool aged kids through elementary as well as, a few teaching tips along the way.

Note: Stay around until the end of the post for the free printable I Words for Kids Learning Pack!

The Sounds of I

Before we get into all the interesting words that begin with the letter I, lets go over the sounds that I makes.

There are three basic sounds of I. The short I sound /ih/ is used in words like: him, swim, and Tim. The long vowel sound /eye/ is used in words like: side, wide, hide. And the last sound, /ee/ as in the words: antique, magazine, and chic.

The Sounds of I:

  • Short /ih/ as in: is, it, his
  • Long /eye/ as in: like, five, hive
  • /ee/ as in: ski, police, machine

Note: There are some I words that do follow the ‘sound rules’ very well. Live (as in ‘I hope I live a long time) and wind (as in: ‘Will you wind the clock for me?’) are two example of words that don’t fit into their sound categories very well.

I Words for Preschool

Before diving into I words for preschool, spend some time working on letter recognition and prewriting activities. Then, when you get to letter I, give your preschoolers the short I sound /ih/ to learn first.

*Be sure to check out the Preschool Daily Skill Builder for daily skill-building in six different areas including prewriting, letters, and reading.

Giving preschoolers more than one sound per letter would be too confusing at this time. With that being said, here are some easy words that begin with the short I sound.

Words that begin with the short I sound for preschoolers:

  • Igloo – The igloo was made from snow and ice.
  • Insect – I watched the insect crawl across the floor
  • It – It is my birthday.
  • In – Will you come in?
  • If – If you are happy, clap your hands.

I Words for Kindergarten

As kindergarteners learn their vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and begin to read, you can start teaching them the long and short sounds of I. (I found it helpful to tell my kids that the long vowel says its name, and the short vowel sound does not.)

*Be sure to check out the Kindergarten Daily Skill Builder for daily skill-building in six different areas which include reading and handwriting.

Here are a few simple I words for kindergarten based on the long and short vowel sounds used.

Words that begin with short I for Kindergarten:

  • Insect – An insect has six legs.
  • Inn – They stayed at a crowded inn.
  • Iguana – He held the iguana in his hands.
  • Into – She went into the store.
  • Igloo – I have never seen an igloo in real life.
  • It – I am glad it was a sunny day.
  • Is – Is Sue sad?

Words that start with the long I sound for Kindergarten:

  • I – I am a good swimmer.
  • Ice – The ice melted in the hot sun.
  • Item – This item costs twenty cents.
  • Iron – She will iron her wrinkly shirt.

CVC Words with the Short I Sound for Beginning Readers

There are lots of wonderful CVC words that use the short I sound for beginning readers. Here are some of the most common three letter short I words you will find in early readers and sight word activities:

CVC Words that use the short I sound

  • Fit
  • Hit
  • Kit
  • Lit
  • Pit
  • Sit
  • Wit
  • Bid
  • Did
  • Hid
  • Kid
  • Lid
  • Rid
  • Bib
  • Fib
  • Rib
  • Big
  • Dig
  • Fig
  • Rig
  • Gig
  • His
  • Lip
  • Sip
  • Tip
  • Rip
  • Hip
  • Dim
  • Him
  • Rim
  • Bin
  • Din
  • Fin
  • Sin
  • Win
  • Pin
  • Tin
  • Pig
  • Wig
  • Nip
  • Jim
  • Zip
  • Fix
  • Mix
  • Six

I Words for Elementary Kids

Let the intriguing word options begin! As elementary kids grow in their reading skills, they are ready to learn and enjoy all kinds of words that begin with I, as well as, words that end in I.

Words that Begin with I for Elementary Kids

  • Insect – A bee is an insect.
  • Ink – The black ink stained her shirt.
  • Income – His expenses exceeded his income.
  • Image – The toddler looked at her image in the mirror.
  • Itself – The cat cleaned itself.
  • Indigo – Cotton and indigo plants grow in the South.
  • Include – Please include me in the conversation.
  • Instant – She was happy the instant she heard about the surprise.
  • Input – I would like your input on the situation.
  • Imitate – Babies sometimes imitate their mother’s facial expressions.
  • Inflate – Help me inflate these balloons for the party.
  • Igloo – The Eskimo built an impressive igloo.
  • Ice – I like to have ice in my drinks.
  • Ivory – The ivory palace glistened in the sun.
  • Inspire – Inspire others with your gifts.
  • Imagine – I can imagine how hard that was for you.
  • Impact – She saw the impact of her unkind words and she felt remorse.
  • Invent – He plans to invent a machine for better productivity.
  • Invite – Should we invite our neighbors over for dinner?
  • Important – Family is the most important thing to me.
  • Intelligent – Elephants are very intelligent.
  • Iguana – The iguana is a reptile.
  • Injection – The injection was not as painful as I expected.
  • Icicle – I watched the icicle fall from the tree and break apart as it hit the ground.
  • Idol – That man is my idol.
  • Innocent – After the trial, the jury found the woman to be innocent.
  • Improve – You can improve your piano playing if you would practice more.
  • Interesting – This conversation is quite interesting.

Words that End in I for Elementary students

  • Magi – The Magi brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
  • Mini – She used a handheld, mini vacuum to clean out her car.
  • Cacti – All the Cacti were bursting with colorful blooms.
  • Chili – We will be having chili and cornbread for dinner.
  • Corgi – Gus has a Golden Retriever and a Corgi.
  • Bikini – She wore a t-shirt over her bikini when she went to the public pool.
  • Biscotti – Grandma likes to eat biscotti with her tea.
  • Broccoli – The broccoli casseruole was not my favorite.
  • Confetti – Confetti burst through the air, falling down upon the winner.
  • Crostini – She prefers pesto on her crostini.
  • Paparazzi – The paparazzi took pictures of the celebrities.
  • Pepperoni – I like pepperoni and sausage on my pizza.
  • Potpourri – My mom makes a stovetop potpourri and it makes out house smell divine.
  • Spaghetti – Spaghetti with meatballs is my favorite.

Advanced I Words for Kids

Now for some longer and more challenging words that begin with I. These would be fun to introduce to upper elementary readers and though until middle and high school.

  • Influenza – The town was crippled by the spreading of influenza.
  • Indigenous – I am researching indigenous people groups.
  • Incognito – As a precaution, he wishes to remain incognito.
  • Incorrigible – Her actions were incorrigible.
  • Itinerary – I just received my flight itinerary.
  • Inscrutable – His inscrutable expression left me wondering what he thought.
  • Incredulous – She was incredulous that her parents had bought her a car.
  • Intercession – The intercession of her father was what made the difference.
  • Ideal – She is an ideal student for that college.
  • Impactful – His influence was impactful to me.
  • Integrity – He is honest and full of integrity.
  • Influential – The pastor at my church as been influential in my life.
  • Invigorating – I found my swim in the lake to be quite invigorating.
  • Immense – She took immense joy in spending time with her mother.
  • Insightful – I appreciated the insightful words of the lecturer.
  • Independent – She is a hard working, independent woman.
  • Intuitive – My mother had intuitive knowledge and seemed to always know what was going on.
  • Invincible – The girl rode her bike down the dangerously steep hill because she thought she was invincible.

The Ultimate I Words for Kids

We’ve arrived at the ultimate I word list for kids! This is not a completely exhaustive list, I’m sure you could add to it, but this is a really great starting point of I words for kids. (Sentences are given for context, and if you click the word at the beginning, it will take you to the actual dictionary definition.)

  • I – I am going to the store.
  • In – Please put the leftovers in the fridge.
  • It – It is a beautiful day.
  • Is – She is a very good dog.
  • If – If you go to the store will you pick up some apples?
  • Ice – I put ice on my sprained ankle.
  • Inn – There was no room in the inn.
  • Ink – She used her pen with red colored ink.
  • Into – He went into the store.
  • Item – How much does this item cost?
  • Iron – I need to iron my wrinkly shirt.
  • Insect – An ant is an insect.
  • Income – My dad pays income tax every year.
  • Image – The image is too small to resize.
  • Itself – The carriage can’t drive itself.
  • Indigo – My bracelet is indigo.
  • Include – Please include drinks in my order.
  • Instant – I will be back in an instant.
  • Input – I would appreciate your input on the matter.
  • Imitate – Jenna will imitate her older brother.
  • Inflate – I asked my dad to inflate the beach ball.
  • Igloo – An igloo is made of ice.
  • Ivory – Elephants are known for their ivory tusks.
  • Inspire – I hope to inspire other people with my art.
  • Imagine – Imagine a world full of love and peace.
  • Impact – Her friendship had a huge impact on my life.
  • Invent – Jack tried to invent a machine that would clean his room for him.
  • Invite – I am going to invite all of my friends to my birthday party.
  • Important – Dad has an important meeting at nine o’clock.
  • Innocent – The man was innocent until proven guilty.
  • Intelligent – I consider myself to be quite intelligent.
  • Iguana – The iguana, at the zoo, was my favorite of all the animals.
  • Injection – My diabetic mother needs an insulin injection everyday.
  • Icicle – A long icicle hung from the roof of our house.
  • Idol – I guess you could say he was my idol.
  • Inhaler – Sam needs an inhaler for his asthma.
  • Insulin – Tim takes insulin for his diabetes.
  • Institution – That educational institution is highly esteemed in our community.
  • Imp – That imp rang our doorbell and ran away.
  • Iceberg – That is the biggest iceberg I have ever seen
  • Influenza – Influenza took my lives in the early 1800’s.
  • Indigenous – The indigenous people learned how to be very resourceful
  • Incognito – I can tell when someone goes out incognito.
  • Incorrigible – His behavior was simply incorrigible.
  • Itinerary – I have printed out my flight itinerary.
  • Inscrutable – She was tired and her writing became inscrutable
  • Incredulous – The people had an incredulous reaction to the fire.
  • Intercession – The congregation lifted prayers of intercession for the sick child.
  • Ideal – We secured the ideal location for the wedding.
  • Impactful – His work as a doctor was very impactful to the community.
  • Integrity – He is honest and full of integrity.
  • Influential – The pastor at my church as been influential in my life.
  • Invigorating – I found my swim in the lake to be quite invigorating.
  • Immense – She took immense joy in spending time with her mother.
  • Insightful – I appreciated the insightful words of the lecturer.
  • Independent – She is a hard working, independent woman.
  • Intuitive – The intuitive husband knew his wife was upset.
  • Invincible – The boy jumped off the deck because he thought he was invincible.
  • Imagination – The child’s imagination was lively and fun.
  • Improve – I will improve my crochet by purchasing a better quality of yarn.
  • Interesting – This is the most interesting book I’ve ever read.

I Word Activities for Kids

(This list of ideas contains Amazon Affiliate Links.)

  • Free I Word Learning Pack â€“ At the end of this post, you can learn how to get access to a free I Word Learning Pack. This printable I letter tracing cards, handwriting pages for letter I (print and cursive), vocabulary word lists for letter I, along with a a list of I words for kids.
  • Letter I CraftsCrafts for letter I can be a great way to for preschoolers and kindergarteners practice recognizing and forming the letter I.
  • Free Letter I Coloring Sheets – Downloading some coloring sheets for letter I and having your kids practice the letter itself is a nice activity for learning letter i.
  • Picture books about letter I – Reading with your kids is the best way to get them used to recognizing letters and new words. So, get some letter I picture books and enjoy reading together. Also, take some time to find the letter ‘I’ throughout the pages, as well as, words that begin with ‘I’.
  • Scrabble spelling – Get some letters from the Scrabble game OR purchase some Scrabble tiles and practice spelling words that begin with I.
  • Write an ‘I’ Word Poem â€“ Poems can be a wonderful way to practice using their words that begin with ‘I’. Try an acrostic poem or alphabet poem to get started.
  • Play Some Word-Related Board Games â€“ Play some word-related board games! This includes games like ScrabbleScattergories, and Boggle. These types of board games are useful for practicing the letter ‘I’ words your upper elementary students have been learning.

FREE Letter I Learning Pack 

Looking for some learning resources that help teach letter I and words that begin with I? I’ve got a free resource for you! This Letter I learning pack contains letter tracing cards for letter I, letter I handwriting and vocabulary pages and a printable I word list. All you have to do is sign in with Grow for this exclusive content!

Get it Now!

What are you favorite I words for kids?

This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.

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