Once children know the 6 syllable types, we can move into teaching them how to decode multisyllabic words. I teach consonant + le as the last syllable type because it only appears in multi-syllabics words. before a t, etc.) By third grade, students should be introduced to, familiar with, and able to identify all syllable types. Second grade is also a great time for many vowel teams (ex: ai say /a/ in the middle, ay say s/a/ at the end, igh says /i. The best way to teach is to start with er and let children know that it is the most common /er/ sound. Ar and or have distinct sounds, while er, ir, and ur represent the same sound. I would hesitate to add er, ir, and ur at the same time you teach other r-controlled vowels. In second, we can begin r-controlled vowels by adding in /ar/ and /or/. Many teachers also teach some beginning vowel teams in first. Starting in first grade, I’d introduce magic-e. One of the most popular ways I’ve seen to illustrate is with the actual opening and closing of a door to demonstrate those two syllable types. You can also teach open syllables, using examples like hi, be, me, etc. Knowing this vocabulary from the beginning lays the foundation for decoding multisyllabic words in the future. Since students are already reading the words, let’s add intention to our instruction and teach the proper vocabulary of the syllable. Words that children are already reading like get, sip, tab, etc., are all closed syllables. Just think, a CVC word is a basic closed syllable. You can start teaching syllables explicitly in kindergarten. (Ex: chain, key, boat, green.) Where to start instruction: Vowel-Team: When two vowels come together to make one sound, it is a vowel team. R-controlled (Also called vowel-r syllable): When a vowel is followed by the letter r, it is an r-controlled syllable. Magic-e (Also called silent-e): When you add a silent e to the end of a closed syllable, it makes the vowel sound a long sound. (Ex: go, hi, robot, open)Ĭlosed Syllables: When you have only one vowel, followed by one or more consonants in a syllable, it is a closed syllable. Open Syllables: When a syllable ends in a single vowel, it is an open syllable. The syllable types are organized around how to vowels work, so this is what we want to emphasize for our students. Is it long or short? Is it made by 2 vowels, or 1? Is it distorted in some way by the letters surrounding it? Understanding the vowel is essential to understanding syllables. What I always try to impress on my students is that all of the syllable types are organized by what is happening to the vowel. Below, I offer a brief definition of each. Open, closed, magic-e, r-controlled, vowel team, and consonant + le. But for a child who doesn’t acquire the code as easily, learning the 6 syllable types and what that means for decoding can be the difference between a life as a reader or continuing to struggle. You might find yourself struggling to understand why we should waste our time teaching these skills. Reading has never been a struggle for me. If I made it that far without knowing them, you’d think it can’t actually matter, right? The reality is, though, that I was one of those children lucky enough that learning to read seemed effortless. I was 27 years old with 2 master’s degrees before I knew the 6 syllable types in English.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |