Teaching kindergarten syllables

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.

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!

Tips for Teaching Syllables - Lucky Little Learners

Written by: Jess Dalrymple

• Share
• Tweet

There’s no doubt about it – teaching syllables is an important part of reading instruction. After all, this skill shows up in primary grade level standards – regardless of where you teach. But how do you get your students to understand what syllables are, and what are the best ways to practice syllabication once it is introduced?

First, let’s dive into why it’s a benefit to young readers to understand syllables. From there, we will offer some suggestions for strategies and resources teachers can use to make teaching syllables a breeze!

Why do kids need to understand syllables?

When younger kids can hear the different sounds and syllables in words, they will have the foundation to be able to chunk apart and blend together sounds and word parts as beginning readers.

As children progress through grade levels, having a strong understanding of how words are broken into syllables can help them decode, pronounce, and spell longer words. In fact, did you know that over 80% of English words have two or more syllables! So, having a strategy for how to chunk multisyllabic words into single syllables is much more efficient than trying to sound out a long string of letters.  

How to Teach Syllables

Download Under Construction HERE

Explain what syllables are

Basically, a syllable is a single vowel sound in a word. This can be confusing for kids because they will want to count the number of vowels they see in a written word. This will take some practice, but it is important to help kids understand that syllables are not single vowels; they are single vowel sounds. Try demonstrating this with a word like “beautiful”. There are five vowels, but when you listen closely, there are three vowel sounds.

1. beau
2. ti
3. ful

Another way to explain is by calling syllables “beats” in words. Try clapping the syllables in students’ names and in names of objects around the classroom. Have students join in as they get more comfortable! Take this one step further and sort the people and objects into groups by the number of syllables.

One more tip: Try putting your hand under your chin to count the number of syllables in words. The number of times your chin drops when you’re saying a word is the number of syllables the word has.

Try it! How many times does your chin touch your hand when you say the word ‘banana’? Your chin should have dropped three times – ‘ba-na-na’. This works because your mouth has to change positions to form a new vowel sound (aka syllable), causing your chin to drop.

Finally, kids will love this video explaining syllables:

Examples of Syllables

• ‘dog’ – one syllable
• ‘pen-cil’ – two syllables
• ‘bi-cy-cle’ – three syllables
• ‘cal-cu-la-tor’ – four syllables
• ‘hip-popot-a-mus – five syllables

Here’s a free site called “How Many Syllables” where you can type a word and it will tell you how many syllables, how to divide the word into syllables, and what the primary and secondary syllables are (to help with pronunciation).

4 Strategies for Teaching Syllables

1- Count Syllables

Practicing syllable counting can be simple! Call out the number of syllables in names when dismissing kids to line up for lunch, “If your first name has three syllables, line up.” Or, send kids to their literacy center by telling them to hop for each syllable in their name. “Jess-i-ca, syllable hop on over to the writing center”.

2- Teach Younger Students to Segment by Syllables

When you notice a student struggling to read a longer word, cover up all but the first syllable. Once they sound out the first syllable, reveal the next syllable to sound out, then have them put the two syllables together. Learn more about reading strategies to use with young readers.

3-

1. Look at the word. Mark the vowels.
2. Determine which syllable division rule (VC/CV, V/CV, VC/V, or V/V) applies.
3. Cut or mark the word accordingly.
4. Read the word.

4- Practice Syllables With Poetry

Haikus

Haikus are fun to write! Kids can get creative and write about any topic, but the poem must be three lines long:

• 1st line – 5 syllables
• 2nd line – 7 syllables
• 3rd line – 5 syllables

Limericks

Limericks are also a form of poetry that requires syllable counting!

• They are five lines long.
• Lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme with one another.
• Lines 3 and 4 rhyme with each other.
• They have a distinctive rhythm (based on number of syllables)
• They are usually funny.

This site has excellent directions for how to write a limerick.

Resources for Teaching Syllables

Lucky Little Learners has something for everyone when it comes to supporting the teaching of syllables in K-2 classrooms! Our syllables resources are organized by grade level below.

Kindergarten & 1st Grade Syllable Resources

Kindergarten ELA Toothy

• syllable counting: 1-4 syllable words

Download Syllable Counting Toothy HERE

1st & 2nd Grade Phonics Toothy

• Practice with spelling patterns to master decoding by syllables

 Download 1st & 2nd Grade Syllables Toothy HERE

P

It’s the Toothy® you know and love, with a twist! This phonological awareness resource includes 45 sets of phonological and phonemic awareness skills. It includes early, basic, and advanced phonological awareness activity sets.  Toothy® task kits are highly engaging task card games that allow students to practice skills by answering questions in a fun, motivating way.

Download Phonological Awareness Toothy HERE

2nd Grade Syllable Resources

Daily review all year with all essential 2nd grade phonics skills, including syllables!

• CVC Syllables
• CV Syllables
• CVCe Syllables
• CVVC Syllables
• R-Controlled Syllables
• C + le Syllables
• CV Two Syllables
• CVCe Two Syllables
• CVVC Two Syllables
• Multisyllabic Words

Download Phonics Day by Day HERE

Multisyllabic Words Toothy Pack

Kids get to play the Toothy game while focusing on syllable types and decoding multisyllabic words:

• Counting Syllables
• Closed Syllables / CVC
• Multisyllabic CVCe Words
• Open Syllables
• Two-Syllable Long Vowel Words
• Final Stable Syllables

Download MultiSyllabic Words Toothy HERE

Phonics Centers for 2nd Grade & 1st & 2nd Grade Phonics Toothy

Students get tons of practice with spelling patterns to master decoding by syllables with these resources.

Download Phonics Centers HERE

Download Phonics Toothy HERE

• Share
• Tweet

Effective ways to teach your child to read

Slides and text of this presentation

All parents are interested in the correct and comprehensive development of the child, so learning to read often begins before school. The choice of technique depends on the age of the baby, his inclinations, temperament and level of training.

Sound (phonetic) method

This system is considered traditional. It is on it that they teach reading in modern schools. The technique is based on the alphabetic principle: the foundation is learning to pronounce letters and sounds. When the child gets enough knowledge, he moves on to syllables, and then to whole words.

Pros:

• the method is used in ordinary schools, so the child does not have to retrain;
• Most parents were taught to read using the phonetic method, so they understand its basic principles;
• sound learning develops phonemic awareness, which allows you to capture and isolate sounds in words. Speech therapists also advise this method as a remedy for speech defects;
• training does not require expensive equipment and complex manuals, so it can be done anywhere.

Cons:

• the phonetic method is not suitable for toddlers;
• you can learn to read and understand the text after long and hard exercises. This way of learning does not give quick results;
• the child is focused on reading and parsing individual words, so he often does not understand the meaning of what he read.

Whole word method

This way of learning involves starting reading from meaningful units - words and phrases.

Pros:

• it does not require well-developed phonemic hearing, is not based on sound analysis and relies on visual mechanical memory;
• learning results in almost fluent reading;
• eliminated the difficulties of mastering sound analysis.

Minuses:

• using the method of whole words requires the child to intuitively guess the principles of reading;
• the teacher practically cannot influence the process of assimilation of information: it is impossible to teach a child intuition and quickly develop his visual memory;
• method does not develop spelling literacy, therefore it is unpromising in further education.

Reading by syllables

Learning to read begins with the ability to identify different sounds: consonants, vowels, hard, soft.

The order of familiarization with syllables is not important, it will be determined by the alphabet chosen by the parent.

Some alphabets are taught according to the frequency of sounds in the language, others - based on the formation of sounds in the child.

The most common is the method of learning to read by syllables using a primer.

The author of one of these textbooks, N. Zhukova, compiled an effective book with which a child learns to understand, not memorize, masters the skill of putting letters into syllables, and syllables into words.

Reading in warehouses

Learning to read in warehouses originates from the methodology of N. Zaitsev.

Warehouse is the smallest unit of sound, which may not always coincide with a syllable. For example, in the word “horse” there are two syllables “horse”, but 3 warehouses “horse-sha-d”.

Syllable reading is only used until the child can read words.

Next, you need to help the child get rid of the habit of splitting words into warehouses and move on to reading in syllables and together.

Zaitsev's Cubes

Training is based on the analytical-synthetic method using storage blocks. The lesson itself takes place in the form of an exciting game. Using these cubes, the child makes up words and begins to read them.

Pros:

• the method allows you to teach the child as early as parents want;
• does not require additional study of letters;
• children, as a rule, learn effectively with the help of blocks: I read without a hitch and quite fluently;
• since the training takes place in the form of a game, the kids are happy to do it;
• on the cubes there are only those combinations of letters that are possible in Russian.

Minuses:

• already in the first grade the child will have to relearn and master the phonetic analysis of the word, because at school the method of teaching reading is different;
• Development aids are not cheap, and not every parent is able to afford them.

"Skladushki" by Vyacheslav Voskobovich

"Skladushki" is a game designed to teach children of senior kindergarten age how to read using the warehouse system.

The manual includes cards, on which warehouses are presented in the form of columns located on the right and left sides. Two columns form a house. Drawings, poems, music create images of these houses, that is, they illustrate the storage system of education.

Pros:

• all games are multifunctional. Cards do not bother the child for a long time;
• any manual has several levels of complexity and is suitable for a three-year-old baby, and a preschooler, and sometimes even a primary school student.

Cons:

• Voskobovich's "Skladushki" will have to be bought in the store.

Chaplygin's Dynamic Cubes

The methodology is based on the principle of natural learning to read in syllables.

When the baby is engaged, all the senses are involved: the child sees toys, holds them, makes different combinations, hears and pronounces words.

Pluses:

• learning takes place in an easy form of entertainment;
• the child does not need to learn letters;
• the kid masters the principle of reading in a short time.

Cons:

• as with Zaitsev's cubes, in elementary school the child will have to change to a different method of learning to read;
• you need to purchase inventory in the store.

Doman cards

The essence of this technique is that the parent (or teacher) shows cards with printed words to the child, pronouncing them aloud along the way. Cards are shown to the baby according to a certain scheme.

Pros:

• suitable for children from 0 to 5 years old;
• the learning process takes place in the form of a game, during which the child receives the attention of an adult and positive emotions;
• in addition to getting the reading skill, the baby develops memory and attentiveness.

Cons:

• method requires perseverance. It will not work with a restless child;
• cards must be shown to the child according to a certain scheme. and classes to conduct every day;
• the child takes a passive role in the learning process. In the classroom, only the visual system of the baby works.

Montessori Reading

In the Montessori system, babies first learn to write letters using inserts and frames, and then learn the letters.

Teaching aids are made of cardboard plates in the form of letters, covered with rough paper. The kid calls the sound, and then circles the letter with his finger. Next, the child learns to add words, phrases, sentences.

Pros:

• Montessori exercises never get boring. All training takes place using bright and interesting toys that not only teach reading, but also develop fine motor skills;
• children quickly begin to read smoothly, without dividing words into syllables;
• the child immediately learns to read independently;
• exercises and games develop analytical thinking, logic.

Minuses:

• the technique does not imply individual lessons, but group ones;
• it is difficult to equip a Montessori class at home: you will have to buy expensive equipment and manuals.

The authors of the methods claim that the most effective and complete learning occurs during the game. The main assistant in learning is the curiosity of the child himself.

• Author: Katya
• Print