What Are Syllables? Teaching Syllable Division (Part 2)

In last week’s post, I went over where to start when teaching syllable division. We also discussed how to introduce the six syllable types, beginning with closed and open syllables. So with that foundation, we’re ready to tackle the remaining four syllable types: VCe (“Magic E”), Vowel Teams, V+R (“R-Controlled”), and C+le.

If you’re getting overwhelmed thinking about how to teach syllables, to clarify, here are some easy ways to approach teaching these four syllable types.

Children in a classroom holding pencils and writing on papers

Four Powerhouse Syllable Types

1. VCe – Vowel-Consonant-“Magic E”

The syllable fan for "Mule Rule" with an image of a mule and the text "The 'Mule Rule' is the Magic 'E' Syllable. That means a syllable ends with a silent e, thus giving the other vowel in that syllable its long vowel sound." With the example "mule" written with a "v" over the "u," a "c" over the "l," and an "e" crossed out over the "e", the example "rep/tile" with a "v" over the "i," a "c" over the "l," and an "e" crossed out over the "e," and the example "tad/pole" with a "v" over the "o," a "c" over the "l," and an "e" crossed out over the "e" and a thought bubble under the examples with the text "Can you think of one? Write it!"

After your students understand short and long vowel sounds as well as open and closed syllables, they’re ready to encounter the VCe syllable.

This syllable type “takes the cake!” Explain to your students that the magic “e” that comes at the end is silent, which means the first vowel will make its long vowel sound. (Examples: “kite,” “tape,” and “rope”)

To clarify, teach and model long vowel sounds, and have students use cut out letter tiles and use work mats to make long vowel/magic e words based on word families. Use analogy charts to help cement this learning, and subsequently, have students practice how to change closed syllables to VCE syllables.

Examples:

at / ate
tot / tote
not / note
mit / mite

2. Vowel Teams

The syllable fan for "Toad Rule" with an image of a toad followed by the text "the 'Toad Rule' is the Vowel Team Syllable. That means two vowels are right next to each other in a syllable and together they make one vowel sound." with the example "toad" written with the "oa" circled and a "v" written over it, the example "bea/ver" with the "ea" circled and a "v" written over it, and the example "ea/gle" with the "ea" circled and a "v" written over it followed by a thought bubble with the text "Can you think of one? Write it!"

Introduce vowel teams by explaining that there are certain vowels that like to get together and form a team. These pairs of vowels, or ‘Vowel Teams,’ join together to make one long vowel sound (such as the “ai” sound in “train” or “daisy”). So whether it’s a one-syllable word or a single syllable within a multisyllabic word, we never divide between these pairs of vowels. The reason? It’s because We never want to break up a vowel team!

Examples:

Long a (-ai, -ay, -ea, -eigh, -ey): “paint,” “play,” “please,” “weigh,” “hey”
Long e (-ea, ee, -ey, -ie, -ei): “lean,” “feed,” “key,” “piece,” “ceiling”
The Long i sounds (-ie, -igh): “pie,” “sigh”
Long o (-ow, -oe, -oa,): “row,” “toe,” “boat,
Long u (-ew /-ew; -ue /-ue; -eu,;-ui): “crew” / “stew”; “blue” / “argue”; “sleuth”; “fruit”

Teach and model how vowel teams make the long vowel sound in words or syllables and have your students practice building words.

To clarify, reinforce your teaching on vowel teams with a Making Words activity during guided reading groups.

Ask students to build the word “train.” Have them join you and blend the word together. After that, ask them to change the letter “t” in train to the letter b. Then have them blend the word together and write the word. Continue doing this word building activity to help them understand how to build new words by changing out letters.

A syllables worksheet with text written on it that is out of focus with a box of crayons and a yellow, red, and blue crayon laid out over it

While we’re on the subject: My Making Words Mega Bundle, Volume 1 & 2 has Making Words activities for vowel teams, vowel digraphs and diphthongs, R-controlled vowels, and much, much more! It really does contain ALL of the sounds and phonics skills that you’ll need to teach for the entire year.

I encourage you to check it out as you’re planning your lessons on syllable types, vowel sounds, and other spelling and phonics skills. There are a lot of skills to cover, but this resource will keep your kiddos busy learning them all year!

Vowel Digraphs and Diphthongs

Teach your students that a vowel digraph means two vowels stick together; however, we only hear one of the vowels. Share examples such as “train,” “lean,” or “boat.” Explain that this is one of those instances where “two vowels go walking and one does the talking.”

Next, explain that a diphthong means that a pair of vowels have come together to make one “sliding” sound, such as the “oi” sound in “oil,” or the “oy” sound in “joy.”

Again, you’ll teach and model these digraphs and diphthongs in a whole class setting, then reinforce the concepts with Making Words activities during guided reading.

A box of crayons with three crayons spilling out and a hand writing "grasshopper" under a column that says "3 syllables" under the words "butterfly" and "ladybug" next to the words "money," "apple," and "rainbow under the "2 syllables" column and the words "wig," "pig," and "bat" under the "1 syllable" column

Consonant Digraphs

Teach consonant digraphs by explaining that sometimes when we put two or more consonants together, they make a new sound altogether, called a digraph. (Examples: “sh,” “ch,” “th,” “ck,” “ph,” “wh”)

Consonant digraphs have a “breathy” sound at the end. To demonstrate this concept, it’s helpful to show your students how it feels when they make one of these sounds. Subsequently, have them hold their hand out flat and place their flattened fingers lightly under their chin as they vocalize the “wh,” “ch,” “sh,” and “th” digraphs. (They’ll feel their chin drop as the air expels at the end of the sound.)

Examples:

“whale,” “chip,” “shine,” and “three”

Again, teach and model these consonant digraphs in a whole class setting and then reinforce the teaching with a Making Words/word building activity during guided reading.

3. R-Controlled (“Bossy R”) Syllables

The syllable fan for the "bird rule" with an image of a cardinal and the text "The 'Bird Rule' is an R-controlled Syllable. That means the vowel in the syllable is followed by an 'r' controlling the sound of the vowel in the syllable. (ar, er, ir, or, ur)" with the example "bird" written with "ir" circled and "v" written over it, the example "shark" written with the "ar" circled and "v" written over it, and the example "tur/key" written with the "ur" circled and "v" written over it followed by a thought bubble that says "Can you think of one? Write it!"

Tell your students that an R-controlled syllable contains a vowel that is closed-in (or bossed around!) by the letter “r.” In this “Bossy R” syllable, the vowel is controlled by the “r” sound; when the “r” is the boss, it changes the sound that the vowel makes. A vowel that’s controlled by the letter R does not make its usual long or short sound; rather, it makes a new sound altogether. (Examples: “park,” “serve,” “turn,” “born,” and “bird”)

Teach and model the R-controlled “shwa sound” syllables, ar / er / ur / or /ir, and allow students to practice with analogy charts and word sorts. Then follow-up and reinforce with word building activities using word mats and letter tiles during guided reading word work.

4. Consonant-L-E

The syllable fan for the "Turtle Rule" with a picture of a turtle followed by the text "The 'Turtle Rule' is a Consonant + LE Syllable. That means that the syllable ends with a consonant + le. Syllables like this are usually at the end of a word." with the example "tur/tle" written with a "c" above the "t" and an "le" above the "le," the example "bee/tle" written with a "c" above the "t" and an "le" above the "le," the example "poo/dle" written written with a "c" above the "d" and an "le" above the "le" followed by a thought bubble with the text "Can you think of one? Write it!"

Finally, introduce the Consonant+le syllable. So teach your students that a Consonant+L-E syllable always comes at the end of a word. This syllable type is made up of a consonant with the letters “le” following it. Explain that the “le” sound means these words will end in the schwa sound “ul.” Show your students the various “le” combinations, such as ‘ble,’ ‘cle’ ‘dle,’ ‘fle,’ ‘gle,’ ‘kle,’ ‘ple,’ and ‘tle.’

Remind your students that the silent ‘e’ is there at the end because of the rule that every syllable must have a vowel. Explain that even though it follows that rule, this is the only syllable type where you cannot hear a vowel sound. For example, in the word “a-ble” you hear the long-a in the first syllable, but the only sounds you’ll hear in the second syllable are the consonants “b” and “l.”

Examples:

“gen-tle,” “can-dle,” “jin-gle“

As with all the other syllable types, Consonant+le can be introduced in a whole class setting but should be reinforced with word work activities during guided reading small groups.

Close up of two Caucasian boys in class paying attention to a teacher on one half with a box of crayons, a red crayon, and red and blue plastic robots over a syllable worksheet

Wow! Syllabication is a big topic with lots of ground to cover! The subject of syllable division lessons and teaching syllabication can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to. I hope this overview of syllable types has been helpful. Don’t forget: the first two syllable types — Open and Closed — were covered in my previous post, What Are Syllables?: Teaching Syllable Division, Part 1, so please check that out if you missed it.

In order to decode new words, your students need to learn how to approach them by looking at the syllables. My Syllable Division Fans help your students to learn the six different types of syllables so that they can attack multisyllabic words.

A picture of the study guide tool of all eight syllable fans — Check out my study guide, Syllable Division Fans

Meet Guided Readers

When you look at a huge area like syllabication, do you ever ask yourself, “Where do I even start?” I’m happy to introduce you to a fantastic starting point for syllabication and ALL the other topics you need to cover in your literacy instruction.

Guided Readers is my new online guided reading program that will help you take the guesswork out of what to teach and how to teach it. That is to say, with Guided Readers, you’ll get easy-to-follow, clear-cut lesson plans along with hundreds of engaging books and interactive activities that your students will love.

Are you looking for well-written, beautifully illustrated leveled texts? If so, we have exactly what you need. The Guided Readers library contains hundreds of professionally leveled readers, with 20+ new texts added each week. All texts are leveled by Fountas & Pinnel and Lexile.com, and there’s even an Interactive Digital Reader where your students can listen to stories being read aloud as well as record their own reading and take quizzes to check comprehension

So if you’re ready to transform your literacy instruction, check out Guided Readers!

Thanks so much for sticking with me through this overview of all things syllables. I hope you have a great teaching week, and may all your syllables have vowels! ; )

Hugs,

Anna