Understanding Syllable Instruction

What is a syllable? what are the different syllable types? And how do we explain it to our students who do not “get it”?

We hear it all the time. As teachers, we instruct our students to clap out or count the syllables in a word during reading instruction. For many of us, that is a natural action. We understand that the word “imagination” has five syllables. But why are there five syllables? And how can we effectively convey this to our students who find it difficult to understand?

What Is A Syllable?

To define it, a syllable is a word or part of a word made by one opening of the mouth or one impulse of the voice. A syllable has one sounded vowel. All vowels cause the mouth to open, and vowels are voiced, meaning they cause our vocal cords to vibrate. So if a word has a vowel our mouth opens to say the vowel sound in the word. For example, a word like “cat” is one syllable long. The short /a/ sound causes the mouth to open in the middle of the word. This rule can even be applied to nonsense words. A nonsense word like tipipit has three syllables because there are three sounded vowels.

Knowing the Different Syllable Types

Once the understanding that vowels cause our mouths to open has been taught, the teacher can then instruct in the various syllable types. There are six syllable types:

• A vowel in a closed syllable (it, tub, mam’moth)
• A vowel in an open syllable (I, he, a’pron)
• Vowel team (book, easel, boy)
• Vowel controlled r (art, fern, doc’tor)
• Vowel consonant e (cake, ath’lete, cube)
• Final Stable syllables (ap’ple, explo’sion, la’dle)

Students can identify the various syllable types, which in turn, supports their understanding as the words occur. For example, the word impede has two syllable types – a closed syllable (im) and a vowel consonant e syllable (pede). Providing this type of direct instruction in syllable types can then lend itself to more automatic and efficient reading of multisyllabic words.

Why Is Accent An Important Part of Instruction?

When we talk about the accented syllable in words, we are not talking about dialect, but more about the stress or intonation that occurs in a syllable. In the word table, the accent occurs on the first syllable (ta). This can be especially important in words where the pronunciation of the syllable changes if it occurs in the accented or unaccented syllable. Take for example the word tartar. The accented syllable is the first “tar” pronounced (t)(ar). The second syllable is in the unaccented syllable, so it is pronounced (t)(er). As I used to tell my students, “I don’t ask for TAR’TAR’ sauce with my fish… I ask for tartar [(t)(ar)’(t)(er)] sauce.” (Which always made students giggle when I exaggerated it incorrectly.)

Accents can also change the part of speech in some words. For example, CON’ vict and con VICT’. One is a noun (CON’ vict) and one is a verb (con VICT’). Example: He will convict’ the con’vict.

Syllable Division Practice in Multisyllabic Words

Once your students have a firm grasp of syllable types and accents, you can start to incorporate syllable division. Syllable division is a method in which the student analyzes the multisyllabic word to determine how it will be pronounced.
There are several syllable division patterns to consider and multiple ways to analyze them:

• VCCV Patterns
  • VC’ CV – When two consonants stand between two sounded vowels, divide between the two consonants and accent the first syllable. (nap’kin)
  • VC CV’- When two consonants stand between two sounded vowels, divide between the two consonants and accent the second syllable. (bom bast’)
  • V’ CCV- When two consonants stand between two sounded vowels, divide after the first vowel and accent the first syllable (ma’cron)
  • V CCV’- When two consonants stand between two sounded vowels, divide after the first vowel and accent the second syllable (re ply’)
• VCV Patterns
  • V’CV – When one consonant stands between two sounded vowels, divide after the vowel and accent the first syllable. (o’pen)
  • VC’V – When one consonant stands between two sounded vowels, divide after the consonant and accent the first syllable.(clos’et)
  • V CV’ – When one consonant stands between two sounded vowels, divide after the vowel and accent the second syllable. (de vote’)
  • VC V’ – When one consonant stands between two sounded vowels, divide after the consonant and accent the second syllable. (ho tel’)
• VCCCV Patterns
  • VC’ CCV – In a VCCCV pattern, divide after the first consonant and accent the first syllable. (mon’ ster)
  • VC CCV’ – In a VCCCV pattern, divide after the first consonant and accent the second syllable. (ex plain’)
  • VCC’ CV – In a VCCCV pattern, divide after the second consonant and accent the first syllable. (pump’ kin)
• VV Patterns
  • V’ V – Two adjacent vowels that regularly form a digraph or diphthong may divide into two separate syllables. Divide between the vowels and accent the first syllable. (po’ em)
  • V V’ – Two adjacent vowels that regularly form a digraph or diphthong may divide into two separate syllables. Divide between the vowels and accent the second syllable. (du et’)

As you can see, syllable instruction is not for the faint of heart! But it all starts at the understanding of the simplest of concepts- what is a syllable. A syllable is a word or part of a word made by one opening of the mouth.