If students do not have a strategy for chunking the word into parts, they are liable to look at a longer word and simply guess or skip it. Once students have our simpler sound letter relationships, we need to help them see the relationship of how they fit into longer words. Learning the syllable patterns below in addition to prefixes and suffixes helps children to be able to accurately and fluently decode longer words and supports their spelling development.
Click on the down arrow for description and examples.
In a closed syllable, we remind the students of three things:
there is only one vowel
the syllable ends in a consonant
the vowel sound is short
Examples: Single syllable word: cat Two syllable word (two closed syllables): pic/nic
In an open syllable, we remind students:
There is only one vowel.
The syllable ends in a vowel.
The vowel is usually long.
Examples: Single syllable word: we Two syllable word (two open syllables): po/go
In a silent-e syllable, we remind students:
It has one vowel followed by a consonant and an e.
The e is silent.
The vowel has a long sound.
Examples: Single syllable word: cake Two syllable word (closed syllable + silent e syllable): mis/take
In a consonant-le syllable, we remind students:
It is a final syllable.
The syllable has the schwa sound.
We represent it as Cle.
Example: Single syllable word: N/A Two syllable words: closed + Cle= puz/zle open + Cle= ta/ble
In a vowel team syllable, we remind students:
There are two vowels.
The two vowels make one sound.
Sometimes the sound is a long vowel sound.
Sometimes the sound is different than either of the single vowel sounds.
We represent this syllable with VV.
Examples: Single syllable words: seat (1 long sound) foil (1 different/dipthong sound)
Two syllable word (VV syllable + VV syllable): sail/boat or (1 different/dipthong sound + VV syllable): row/boat
In a r-controlled syllable, we remind students:
There is a vowel followed by an r.
The vowel sound is neither long nor short.
We represent these syllables as Vr.
Examples: Single syllable word: fur Two syllable word (Vr + Vr): bar/ber