Lessons Unit 1, lesson 2

ɪ as in sit

One short vowel, on its own page. It is quick and short — hear it alone, then find it inside each word below, then say the words yourself.

What do the marks mean?

ˈriːdread Stressed part — say it louder & longer.

təto Weak word — say it quickly & softly.

∅e Silent letter — don’t pronounce it.

θth Underline — these letters spell one sound.

wa·ter Dot · — a syllable break.

go‿on Linked — blend the words together.

?↗︎↘︎ Arrows — voice rises ↗︎ or falls ↘︎.

ˈsɛvən7 Number — how to say it aloud.

read² ² mark — has a second pronunciation.

guess? ? mark — a best guess; double-check it.

Want the full walkthrough? Read the map explains every mark, with practice.

ɪthe i in sit

Relax your mouth — almost closed, lips loose. A short, quick i: sit. It is not the long ee of see; keep it lazy and short.

sit

hit

tin

kid

Now say it yourself

Read each word from its sheet, out loud, three times. Where there's a play button, listen first and copy what you hear. Slow is fine — speaking clearly matters more than speaking fast. Tap a word's microphone to record yourself and see which sounds landed.

fit

zip

win

Don't confuse it with ee

The biggest trap is reaching for the long iː of see instead of this short, relaxed ɪ. Say sit and seat back to back — sit should be shorter and looser, with your tongue a little lower and further back in your mouth. If kid starts to sound like "keed", you've stretched it too far.

A quick self-test

Try fit against feet, or tin against teen. Keep your lips loose, not spread wide in a smile, and clip the sound short. This vowel never carries a glide — it's one quick flick of the tongue, gone almost as soon as it starts.

The spellings to watch

Look for a single i in a closed syllable: sit, hit, tin, kid, fit, zip, win. Short function words like in, if, and is use it too, even though they're just one letter and one quick sound.