According To The Word Entry, How Would You Divide The Syllables Of The Word Syllable?

Do your students give up when they arroyo a long word?

Even if it'southward a word they tin can virtually probable decode, like rabbit or project, some kids get overwhelmed past discussion length and don't even try.

If they're not taught how to decode these words, they may even start guessing rather than trying.

When kids learn how to suspension apart words into smaller chunks or syllables, this helps a great deal!

There are 6 syllable types and information technology is extremely helpful for start graders to at least exist exposed to a few. Even kindergartners can learn to carve up multi-syllabic words made up of closed syllables! I'll go over each syllable type and requite some tips on how to teach them. Then, grab your Complimentary posters at the bottom of this post!

Knowing how to identify and divide syllable types can help students decode multi-syllabic words! Read the six syllable types and tricks for syllable division and decoding. These phonics strategies will help your first graders when they encounter a big word.

what is a syllable and how do you explain it to kids?

A syllable is a part of a discussion that includes a vowel. If y'all hold your finger to your chin, every time you say a syllable, yous can feel a slight movement. This was difficult for me at first, though, then I can imagine it'southward hard for some kids to feel the slight movement. So, I like to play syllable games to help kids understand and place them.

Syllable Games

Syllable blending– clap the syllables to a word and take kids blend the syllables to call out the discussion.

Clapping – practice clapping for and proverb each syllable in a list of words together with the unabridged class. Then, get effectually the room and have each educatee clap the syllables in his/her name.

Omission– similar to the children'due south song B-I-N-G-O, think of a give-and-take and clap the syllables while saying all simply one. Kids have to identify the missing syllable. For example, you would clap for each part and say, "te-le-vi-(but clap)," kids would telephone call out "sion", and together you say "television receiver!" To brand it trickier, omit syllables in the first and middle of the words too: "un-(just clap)- neath" (underneath).

Riddles- like "I Spy" with an added syllable component. For example, "I spy something in our room that we use to open the door and has 2 syllables (doorknob)."

Dividing and Identifying syllable Types

Breaking downward words into syllables makes a word seem less overwhelming, similar to breaking a large job into modest tasks. To find how many syllables are in a word, teach kids to look for vowels separated by consonants. Lots of do "marking up" words while color-coding helps them to be able to practice see this better.

Marking up syllables is a great way to identify syllable types. Knowing how to identify and divide syllable types can help students decode multi-syllabic words! Read the six syllable types and tricks for syllable division and decoding. These phonics strategies will help your first graders when they encounter a big word.

We similar to "karate chop" a word into its syllables, using our easily to prove it. This adds move, which helps kids retain information, as well as a little fun! I inquire kids where they will karate chop that discussion and they tell me the letters they will separate to read each syllable (two consonants).

Dividing a word betwixt two consonants is pretty like shooting fish in a barrel, but what happens when you have more than two consonants?

"Don't carve up BFFs!" This is a fun saying to teach kids that digraphs should non exist separated. Once they learn common blends, y'all can as well tell them these are BFFs when a word has 3 consonants separating vowels (ex: subtract). When words have 3+ consonants between vowels, it's usually separated after the first consonant.

My Syllable Sammy resource is a great way to introduce syllable division explicitly and has tons of practise activities- both printable and digital.

What happens when there's simply one consonant separating vowels?

There are ii places you tin can divide these- before or after the consonant. Almost common is after the consonant, merely if that doesn't work, divide before. For example, if you divide tulip afterward the l, the letter u volition make its brusque sound, which doesn't piece of work. Split up earlier the fifty and the u makes its long sound, to correctly pronounce tulip.

If this doesn't make sense all the same, it volition when y'all read the rules of decoding each syllable type below.

Six Syllable Types

The syllable types volition dictate how each word is decoded. Below I'll go over each syllable blazon and what it means when decoding it. To clarify the codes you lot see after each type, V=vowel and C=consonant.

Airtight Syllable (VC/VCC)

This is the simplest syllable type because kids learn to decode CVC words earlier any other blazon of word. So, when a discussion is made up closed syllables, it'south actually unproblematic to decode one time kids learn where to "karate chop" it! A airtight syllable is a syllable that ends with one vowel and at least ane consonant:

cub slithousand up ask

Notice these syllables don't take to have a consonant at the beginning and they tin can end with more than than one consonant.

When a syllable is closed, the vowel makes information technology brusque sound.

When teaching kids to carve up multi-syllabic words, beginning with words that are made upwards of closed syllable types. Since they know how to decode CVC words, these will exist the easiest multi-syllabic words to divide and decode.

Here are some examples of multi-syllabic words with closed syllables:

mitten napkin catnip nutmeg

A picayune harder, using digraphs and blends:

trumpet plastic dishpan

OPEN Syllable (CV/CCV)

An open up syllable ends in a vowel:

go exist sky she

When a syllable is open, the vowel makes it long sound.

Vowel Consonant eastward Syllable (VCE)

As well called magic or silent e, this syllable ends in one vowel followed by one consonant and the letter east:

cape skate ice shone

In this syllable, the vowel makes its long audio while the due east remains silent. Some like to call it magic e because it has the power to alter the vowel sound. You may also hear it called silent eastward considering- well, because it's silent.

R-Controlled Syllable (V+R)

An r-controlled vowel (vowel +r) is a vowel is followed past the letter of the alphabet r, which changes the vowel audio (ar, or, er/ir/ur):

far for her stir

Some telephone call this the Bossy R, because it "bosses" the vowel effectually. AR is the most common r-controlled vowel, so I help kids remember by maxim it's the "pirate sound." We cover one middle similar a patch and say "arrr" in our best pirate voices whenever nosotros meet ar in a word.

Vowel Team (VV)

This is when you have two vowels together that make i sound:

tea seem play tie teach

You may have heard the expression, "When 2 vowels go walking, the commencement one does the talking," equally well every bit the controversy behind that rule (it's not always accurate). While information technology'south true that it'due south only authentic almost l% of the time, it IS the most common way to decode certain vowel teams. Ee, ea, oa, and ai WILL ordinarily brand the long sound of the first vowel (caprine animal, team, braid). But, these tin too brand short sounds or the long sound of the second vowel (bread, great, over again, chai) and, in the example of diphthongs, they tin make a new sound altogether (boil, launch, found).

I'thou a strong believer in pedagogy kids to be flexible learners and when one rule/strategy/style doesn't work, they should try some other.

And then, while I concord that it's not neat to teach that proverb as is, I don't think we need to dismiss it altogether and I call back it's worth mentioning as i strategy (not the dominion). I similar, "When ii vowels go walking, the kickoff i SOMETIMES does the talking," and emphasize that this isn't always the case.

Kids absolutely need to be taught each vowel squad and diphthong explicitly, though, so that they sympathize the different pronunciations. And, they need to be reminded that when one dominion doesn't work, they tin can think of other rules they know.

The book Uncovering the Logic of English by Denise Eide is a fantastic resources, every bit it goes over every rule and generalization in English spelling. I often await in here to remember why words are spelled a certain style.

Special Vowel Team (Diphthongs)

A special type of vowel team is a vowel diphthong (yes, I had to check my spelling of that!) Instead of a long or short sound, diphthongs make an altogether new audio:

haul book soil plant

And, sometimes consonants are included in a diphthong, the most popular ones being west and y:

manus boy clown new

Some categorize vowel diphthongs as a carve up blazon of syllable, but I view them as being in the same category, since the vowels piece of work together to make 1 sound.

FINAL Stable Syllable (C+LE)

In this syllable, a consonant is followed by LE. This syllable is only found at the end of a word:

little apple simple tabular array cradle

The letter eastward is silent and the C+ L just sounds like a blend. Detect the vowel tin can brand the long or short sound in these words. Teach kids to divide the syllable just before the consonant +le.

Then, kids need to look at the starting time syllable. Remind them that if it ends with VC (ane vowel+consonant), it's a closed syllable, which makes the vowel brusque. If information technology ends with a vowel, information technology'southward an open syllable and the vowel is long.

Weird Words

Just when you thought you were getting the hang of information technology, we have weird words! Allow'due south go nerdy here. . . I know these aren't actually "weird" words, simply they are tricky considering although they SEEM to have a vowel squad, the vowels are really part of 2 separate syllables!

stoic client dual ruin diet violin

These words demand to be divided betwixt the vowels, non the consonants! And then, the first syllable is open (long sound) and the second syllable is airtight (curt sound).

Is your head spinning still?

Well, the good news is that in first course, I never had to teach this rule. Ha! Just seriously, the adept news is that words with this type of syllable division won't be very common in K-i books, so they won't come often. 🙂

In my Guided Reading Warm-ups for levels HIJ, I include plenty of exercise with identifying syllable types, dividing syllables, and decoding words.

Click here to read more nigh my Guided Reading Warm-ups.

QUICK TIPS

In a nutshell, here are the steps to divide a word into its syllables and read it:

circle/highlight the vowels in the word
karate chop the word (don't carve up up BFFs)
place each syllable type
think of the rule to assist y'all read it
if one manner doesn't work, try some other

Of course, there are exceptions and fifty-fifty knowing the syllable types and rules will not result in authentic decoding. A picayune tip I give kids is to use their "brain-auto" to figure out words that don't follow the rules. If they sound out a give-and-take merely it doesn't make sense, they tin can ask themselves if information technology'south close to another word they know. For example, when decoding the word contain, ane would brand the short o sound, which sounds odd but is very close to the correct pronunciation of the word. Unremarkably, this happens when a vowel has a schwa sound. I tell kids our brain is like a auto and (using a robot voice) it says, "I don't know this word just it sounds like —-."

So, although there will be exceptions, they're just that- exceptions- and kids will be able to apply these rules to most words!

It's a lot to remember, so I made you these posters to use equally a reference in your classroom!