Syllables for kindergarten
Teaching Syllables in Kindergarten - kindermomma.com
Teaching syllables to kindergarten students can sometimes be the same as catching a greased pig. It is difficult. Kids this age want to count the sounds and not the beats of the words.
As a kindergarten teacher for 20 years, I have found some tricks to make this task as painless as possible. But, it still can cause a few teacher headaches along the way especially in the beginning.
In addition, I have also found the best syllable freebies that will provide reinforcement and fun. Understanding the reasons why we teach a certain concept is important to teaching it well.
Take a look below to incorporate some new ideas on how to teach syllables effectively to our youngest students.
- A syllable is a single unbroken sound of a spoken or written word.
- It has one vowel sound with or without surrounding consonants.
- Syllables are different from phonemes. This is where the confusion begins in kindergarten.
Students want to count each small unit that makes a sound instead of the parts. They are counting the phonemes. So, emphasizing the fact that syllables are the word parts is important.
- The number of times you hear a vowel in a word is equal to the number of syllables in a word.
Knowing how many syllables a word contains doesn’t seem like the most important concept for kindergarten students. Honestly, it really isn’t. However, it is part of understanding phonemic awareness and how words are spelled.
In addition, an understanding of syllables helps students learn to decode words more effectively. They won’t just guess at longer words but will read each part.
I teach my students to break words into parts when they are using invented spelling. Each part needs a vowel sound.
- Tell students that syllables are “chunks” that each word is broken into.
- Everyone knows clapping is a great way to teach syllables. Clap as you say each word part and encourage the students to join in after a couple of examples.
- Have the students put their hand under their chins. Every time their jaws hits their hand, that is a new syllable.
- Stomp or jump every time you hear a new syllable in a word.
- Play hopscotch outside. Have the students jump in a box every time they say a word part.
- Sing or hum the word using emphasis on the syllable parts.
Mix it up. That has been my main motto in kindergarten. Kids at this age have the attention span of a fruit fly. Common knowledge. Having various effective syllable activities is important to students staying engaged and learning.
- Basketball Syllables is a free TPT product that is included in the free file download at the end of this article. It is made by livelaughilovekindergarten, As a center, the basketballs with 1,2, and 3 can be glued onto individual bags. Students then place the pictures inside the bag with the correct number of syllables.
The basketballs can also be placed on a pocket chart.
Students can be called up to place the pictures underneath the basketballs with the correct number of syllables.
- This syllable resource has it all. There are center activities and plenty of cut and paste and other worksheets for each season. Students will learn about the seasons, vocabulary and syllables at the same time.
Syllabication is a big standard in kindergarten. It is confusing for five year olds, so the more engaging and varied the syllable activities that are used, the better. This free download will provide you with whole group as well as individual practice. I hope you enjoy and will visit the amazing stores of each of these TPT authors.
27 Pages of Syllable Activities
Best Stem Centers on Amazon
Teaching Syllables In Kindergarten - Simply Kinder
Home » Teaching Syllables In Kindergarten
Looking for tips for teaching syllables in kindergarten? Explicitly teaching syllables is so important to building foundational reading skills.
Keep reading for Science of Reading-aligned teaching tips and engaging activity ideas to use in your classroom!
Check out these related posts:
- What is the reading rope?
- Word Mapping Activities for Kindergarten
- Science of Reading Centers in Kindergarten
Read all of the Science of Reading articles here.
This article goes well with these Simply Kinder Resources:
What is a Syllable?
According to Dictionary.com, a syllable is “a unit of pronunciation having one vowel sound, with or without surrounding consonants, forming the whole or a part of a word; e.g., there are two syllables in water and three in inferno. After blending consonants and vowels, syllables are blended into words, and words are used in meaningful sentences.“
So it is a part of the word that has at least one vowel sound and needs to be blended together for reading to take place!
Teacher Tip: You can count syllables by listening to how many vowels sounds you hear! Note: vowel sounds not vowels written.
Why is it Important to Teach Syllables?
Syllable rules and types are important to teach so that students understand that English is logical and makes sense! As backed by the Science of Reading research, explicit phonics instruction is key to helping students understand spelling patterns and move to reading automaticity instead of memorization.
Knowing how to split words into syllables and decode them makes it easier for students to read accurately!
6 Types of Syllables
Did you know there are actually six different types of syllables? Wow! These are important for teachers to know and understand to help instruct their students.
Most kindergarten curriculums will not cover all 6 syllable types but some students might be ready to go beyond and learn them all.
# 1 Closed Syllables: Ends in a consonant and produces a short vowel sound.
This includes most CVC words and where reading instruction typically starts after sounds and letters are understood by students.
Examples: hat, cat, sit.
This also includes VC words like on.
#2 Open Syllables: Ends in a vowel and produces a long vowel sound.
This includes CV words like hi, me, cry.
Open syllables should be taught alongside open or shortly thereafter, so students see, understand, and apply reading them differently!
#3 Silent E: Sometimes called a magic e, silent e changes the vowel to say its long sound.
Magic e has a final silent e with a consonant just before the silent e. This silent e makes the vowel before it have a long sound. Examples include kite, bike, cute.
A good way to transition to magic e is by adding e to the end of familiar CVC words and teaching the different sounds. An example is kit to kite.
#4 Vowel Teams: Two vowels that make one sound.
It’s important to teach that these vowels form one sound and not two! Examples include: mail, boat, play, meet. These are typically not taught in kindergarten but some students might be ready to start reading and writing these syllable types!
#5 R-Controlled Syllables: These syllables have at least one vowel followed by an r.
This combination gives a unique blended vowel sound. Examples include car, star, far, her, bird.
Use the All About the Sound Teacher Tip Cards to help teach and understand all 44 phonemes including r-controlled! Part of the Sound Wall Bundle Here or grab them separately here.
#6 Consonant-le Syllable: This syllable has no vowel sound as the silent e is the only vowel.This syllable type is usually taught only after the first 5 are mastered. Examples include purple, table, and apple.
Teaching Syllables In Kindergarten
Understanding how to split words into syllables makes it easier to decode and understand which sounds to make when reading! This also transforms into writing skills! Especially for understanding the vowel sounds.
Tips for Teaching Syllables in Kindergarten:
- Explicitly teach syllable types. In kindergarten, in my opinion, it is 100% appropriate to work with open and closed syllables as well as silent e.
- Use mouth mirrors with students so they can clearly see their jaws open and close for each vowel sound! Remember vowels are sounds you can sing.
- Talk like a whale (like from Finding Nemo). The syllables will be easily heard with whale talk.
- Make it tactile – jump it, skip it, or whatever you can think of to make it fun
- Watch videos about syllables like this one from Jack Hartman:
Explicitly teaching sounds, phonics patterns, syllables, and decoding skills is key to building a strong foundation for literacy. Consider using a Sound Wall with a Consonant Wall and Vowel Valley (shown below) to help students understand the sounds in each syllable.
Learn more about the Sound Wall Bundle here!
Use these key takeaways and tips to help guide your instruction:
- Explicitly teach sounds and phonics patterns to build a strong foundation
- Use a sound wall, modeling, and mouth mirrors to teach sounds
- Build upon these skills by teaching syllable types and the phonics rules that apply
- Guide instruction with decodable readers and word work activities to practice these skills
- Reteach and provide support frequently to all students
- Teach all of the phonics rules and syllables types to students that are ready so they’re not guessing any words
Do you have more tips to share? Join the conversation inside the Simply Kinder Teachers Facebook Group here!
At Simply Kinder we work together to bring you ready-to-use resources to partner with great teaching for any curriculum, a Facebook community where teachers talk all things Kindergarten, and low-prep learning ideas that your students will love.
Be sure to stay up to date with all things kindergarten on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and through email. Simply Kinder: where teaching Kinder is definitely better together!
Dividing into syllables for preschoolers ✅ Blog IQsha.ru
Why divide words into syllables?
There are different methods of teaching reading. Most of them suggest going from simple to complex: first learn the letters, and then sequentially combine them into words, sentences and texts. How to teach a child to divide words into syllables is the main issue for the successful formation of reading and writing skills.
Why is this so important?
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division into syllables makes it easier to read long words;
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helps with phonetic analysis;
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trains the correct transfer from one line to another.
If this skill is successfully mastered, you can proceed to the next stage - reading whole words in one breath.
Why is it difficult to teach preschoolers to divide words into syllables?
It may seem to an adult that this is a very simple skill that can be taught even to a non-reading child.
But not everything is so simple: often preschoolers do not have the skill of pure speech. Children confuse voiced and deaf sounds and cannot pronounce them clearly.
Getting to know the letters in their alphabetical pronunciation will be a big mistake. If you call the letters “em”, “sha”, “en”, then it will be very difficult for the baby to explain later why they sound differently in the word “ma-shi-na”.
What difficulties can you encounter when learning:
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ignorance of letters;
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speech defects;
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misunderstanding of the difference between sound and letter;
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inability to count to five;
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no sense of rhythm;
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misunderstanding what the word means, the inability to recognize it in the picture.
First you need to eliminate all the difficulties and only then proceed to the formation of a skill.
How to explain the division of words into syllables to a preschooler?
Clearly plan the process and the entire sequence of actions.
It is not necessary to set a specific time frame, because each child masters the skill at an individual pace.
Prepare in advance games and additional materials in the form of flashcards and magnetic ABCs. Children perceive new knowledge visually much better, and they also like to touch three-dimensional letters and make phrases out of them.
Look at a simple algorithm and you will understand how to explain the division into syllables to a child without nerves and special education:
1. Show what a syllable is
Draw two letters using cubes, magnetic alphabet or cards , and connect them. To make it more interesting, come up with a fascinating story: two sounds met and sang a song together: "maaaaa." This song turned out because there is a vowel sound “a”. Without it, it would not have been possible to sing, so the vowel sound is an important participant in the meeting.
2. Show what syllables are
Put a vowel and a consonant next to each other and, rearranging them, begin to introduce the child to the types of syllables: open, closed, reverse and complex.
3. Make a disyllabic word
Ask how many vowels are there? Count them by touching each with your finger. How many vowels, so many syllables.
4. Move on to games.
Subsequent sessions begin with a brief repetition, gradually complicating the material. For training, we do not recommend giving preschoolers incomprehensible and long words that cannot be supported by a picture.
Do Aikyusha's developmental exercises
Syllable Rules
To stimulate cognitive interest and keep the desire to learn, do not use incomprehensible and difficult rules in the lessons. An adult should know them in order to prevent mistakes and explain new material in an accessible way.
The question of how to correctly divide words into syllables in Russian is periodically reviewed in scientific circles. The current approach is:
1. The syllable begins with a consonant: so-ba-ka.
An exception is the consonant sound Y (lay-ka).
2. Deaf, hissing and voiced sounds belong to the next syllable. This rule is surprising in adults, because they used to teach differently. Now the division looks like this: sha-shka, mi-shka.
3. That's not all: from now on, double consonants are not separated when pronouncing: leaf-ve-ny, a-kku-rat-ny. On the letter, the hyphenation rule remained unchanged.
4. Each syllable has room for only one vowel.
5. Unpaired voiced consonants (p, l, n, m) close syllables in the middle of a word.
Games for dividing words into syllables
Teachers have simplified the learning of this important skill and developed many effective tasks in a playful way that can be easily used both at home and in the lessons in a developing studio or kindergarten.
Clap the word game
The facilitator shows a picture and says in one breath what is shown on it. Players must clap their hands as many times as there are syllables.
To consolidate and maintain interest, give the participants words with a different number of syllables. Such a game will help you remember the division into complex syllables, and you can also organize it for 2-5 people or arrange a competition with collecting chips for the correct answers.
Game "How many syllables - so many steps"
An adult asks players to name words on a certain topic, for example, birds. The queue members call them and take as many steps forward as there are syllables in their word. The one with the longest word wins. If the number of steps is the same, then the game continues. An additional bonus can be given for the ability to correctly stress. As a result of such entertainment, children dynamically and effectively work out the skill of dividing into syllables and expand their vocabulary.
The game "Who will collect the most pictures"
You show pictures and name words of one or two syllables, and the players in response raise the number 1 or 2 or one or two hands.
The one who completed the task correctly the fastest gets the picture. Then the game is complicated by the inclusion of three- and four-syllable words. This lesson perfectly trains the ability to quickly and mentally divide words into syllables, and also develops auditory perception.
Add a syllable game
The facilitator gives the children cards with the first parts of two-syllable words. The participants lay them out in front of them, and the adult reads the second part aloud. The task of the child is to understand whether the named syllable is suitable to complete the word. If yes, then the kid takes the card. The winner is the one who collects all the words faster. Please note: syllables must be only open and consist of two letters. Such a game helps to master the skill of reading and will clearly show the division into syllables.
How to train the division of words into syllables with a preschooler?
Oral explanation must be constantly reinforced with practice through games and fun activities.
Regular lessons will bring this skill to automatism. The most effective teaching method is considered to be a combination of simple written and oral exercises.
Oral exercises to reinforce the skill of dividing words into syllables
- "Pick the word"
Place cards with letters in front of the child so that they form a word. Now ask the kid to correctly divide it into syllables. - Feel It
To learn to hear the syllables, ask the child to place his hand horizontally on the larynx. Then say the word together and count how many times the chin dropped. Each downward movement means one syllable. - "Create a Melody"
Hand out crayons to the children and have them pretend they are drumsticks. Say the word and have the young musicians knock on the table as many times as they hear the syllables.
Syllable writing exercises
- Color the Words
Give the children sheets of words written in different sizes and fonts.
The task of the children is to paint each syllable in a different color. - Divide the words
Write different words on a piece of paper or board and ask the child to divide them into syllables using vertical lines. - Dots-boats
Write a word on a card and divide it into syllables with vertical lines. Then disassemble each part: mark the consonant + vowel below with a smooth line (boat), and mark the closing consonant in a closed syllable with a dot. This task helps to form word schemes and trains the skill of fluent reading.
It is not difficult to teach a child to divide words into syllables if you turn each lesson into a game and a fun quest that brings pleasure and good mood to all participants.
Aikyusha and the team
Topic: Syllable. Division of words into syllables senior group | Methodological development for teaching literacy (senior group) on the topic:
Topic: Syllable. Dividing words into syllables.
Purpose: To give the concept of the syllabic composition of the word.
Tasks:
To form the ability to perform syllabic analysis, determining the number and sequence of syllables in a word;
Formation of the ability to distinguish between a word and a syllable;
Express your thoughts with sufficient completeness and accuracy, take into account different opinions;
Activate and expand students' vocabulary;
Conduct self-assessment
Demonstration material: plot picture, syllabic schemes;
Handout: subject pictures, worksheets, pencil.
Org. moment
-Tell me, in what mood did you go to the garden today?
I really want you to have a good and cheerful mood throughout the day!
I think the sun will help us with this.
(illustration)
The sun woke up in the sky.
We guys smiled.
-Let's give our smiles to each other and our guests.
Course of the lesson
- Game "Tell me a word".
I wake up early in the morning
Together with the ruddy sun,
I fill the bed myself,
I quickly do ... (exercise).
Roof in a fur hat,
White smoke overhead.
Yard in the snow, white houses.
At night came to us ... (winter).
On clear nights
A mother walks with her daughters.
She doesn't tell her daughters:
- Go to bed, it's late! -
Because the mother is the Moon,
And daughters ... (stars).
- Clean tongues.
Sa-sa-sa - a fox runs in the forest.
So-so-so - Svetlana has a wheel.
Su-su-su - it was cold in the forest.
Os-os-os - there are many wasps in the clearing.
Us-us-us – a goose is grazing in the meadow.
Sya-sya-sya - we caught a crucian.
Find the same sound in the words: elephant, bowl, fox, bus, Carlson.
1. Acquaintance with new material
- Today I want to tell you a story that happened in this forest (a picture is hung on the board).
- What kind of forest is this?
- And now a fox lived in the forest with her cubs, whose names were Tisha and Marisha.
- What kind of foxes?
- What do they like to do?
- Once a fox went for a walk with her cubs. The fox cubs played and did not notice how they ran away very far. The fox began to call them: "Ti-sha, Ma-ri-sha."
- Foxes do not hear. Let's call them together (Ti-sha, Ma-ri-sha).
- They don't hear again. Let's call them again (Ti-sha, Ma-ri-sha).
-Finally, the foxes heard and ran back. And they promised never to run away again.
-When we called the cubs, we said the word in parts. Listen again. Ti-sha, Ma-ri-sha.
-When we pronounce a word in parts, this means that we divide it into syllables.
-Listen as I now pronounce the word fox and clap my hands for each syllable.
- Let's get together (Li-sa)
- How many syllables are there in this word? What is the first, second?
- What are the names of fox cubs? (foxes)
Let's split the next word (Li-sya-ta).
