Teaching Syllables for Decoding
Teaching syllables is an important part of learning how to break apart words and decode larger words when reading. As students progress in reading, they need to be able to separate chunks or segments of words. These word parts are syllables. As we lean into the science of reading and understand how these fundamental practices affect the reading process as a whole, we learn that in order to read and understand complex words, students need to break apart these words into smaller segments.
Types of syllables:
I’ll be honest, there was a time in my early teaching days that I wasn’t quite sure where to ‘draw the line’ to divide words into syllables. No one taught me the syllable types in undergrad, reading grad classes, or in any school PD, so how was I supposed to teach my own students? I had to learn this with my own research as I began teaching struggling readers. This free website How Many Syllables was a great help to me and my students as I was pulling small groups and teaching students how to sound out difficult words. There are 6 different types of syllables, and some words can have more than one type of syllable in each word.
Closed - These syllables end in a consonant and usually have short vowels. Example: bob-cat
Open - These syllables have a long vowel not closed in by a consonant. Example: we & ro-bot
Magic E - These syllables end with a silent e making the vowel have a long sound. Example: bike & cup-cake
Vowel Team - These syllables have vowel teams (long vowels) in one or more parts of the word. Example: rain & beaver
R-Controlled - These syllables have r-controlled sounds in one or more parts of the word. Example: mar-ket
Consonant + le - These syllables have a consonant and ‘le’ at the end of the word such as ‘ple' & ble’. Example: ta-ble
Syllable Strategies:
Pop-Its - I love using these bubble popping toys in the classroom for individual phonemes, but using them for syllables is another great way to increase hands-on activity and engagement during reading instruction. Read aloud a variety of different words in the classroom such as ‘tab-let, desk, teach-er, lock-er’ etc. and have them press in the bubbles on their pop-it toy to show the syllables in the words. This takes no prep, printing or laminating. Yay for less work with the same learning outcome!
Movement - Using movement in the classroom is a powerful way to help students connect to learning. A few different ways you can practice identifying syllables is by clapping, stomping, leaping, tapping, shaking hands etc. A super fun way to get students thinking about syllables is to start with their own name. Have them clap their name in syllables ‘kait-lyn’ or stomp around the room by saying each syllable per stomp. Then, trade with a friend! Have them stomp or clap their friends’ names too!
Heggerty - When my school first introduced us to Heggerty Phonemic Awareness many years ago, I first rolled my eyes at the thought of implementing yet another thing into my already jam-packed schedule. However, these short, daily lessons have totally changed my understanding of teaching phonemic awareness. In the 2nd grade book, students are not only working on breaking apart words into individual sounds, but also syllables. I love to do this quick phonemic awareness activity as part of my morning meeting. Students are fresh for the day and it helps set the tone for good reading strategies. I love to have my students place their hand underneath their chin while we are working on counting syllables. When their chin drops, that is one syllable, or word chunk. If you have some PTA or school funds, this curriculum is a game-changer for teaching phonics and phonemic awareness!
Sorting - I love a basic sorting activity where students who are learning to identify syllables can sort into groups of 1, 2, and 3 syllables. This activity is so simple and a great way to implement words you are already using in your classroom to help connect it to current learning. This is also an easy way to differentiate teaching syllables and include more complex word decoding to your high readers.
Syllable Activities:
If your students are just beginning to learn how to go from decoding CVC or CVCe words to words with more challenging word parts, this Open and Close Syllable Lesson may be just what you need to help your students understand syllables and strengthen their decoding skills. This set of teaching slides includes two and three syllable words with both open and closed syllables. To make it even more fun and engaging, each few slides has a movement break and worksheets included to reinforce decoding words by syllable. If you have students who struggle with phonemic awareness and hearing the sounds in a word, this activity will greatly help them! I’ve used it in my own classroom and while tutoring students one on one in reading.
As you continue to learn, grow and develop as a teacher, I hope you are encouraged and find something from this post to implement in your own teaching right away! I hope these tips help as you continue to help your readers become stronger, more confident readers!