In Old English, the word for land surrounded by water was igland, which later became iland. However, mistaken English scholars changed the spelling, assuming the word derived from the similar French word isle, or island. Coincidentally, the spelling of the French word was also altered when scholars thought it came from Latin, and so added an "s" to make the word look more Latin. Now the French word for land surrounded by water has no "s", but in English (once again) we are stuck with the confusing spelling.
Recently in our English activities group class we studied landforms vocabulary. Each student made a diorama of an island including mountains, rivers, forests, fields, beaches and more. The end results were an impressive demonstration of creativity and artistic talent! Not to mention the descriptions written in excellent English with the vocabulary they had learned.
photo courtesy of Primavera English