Understanding the 6 Syllable Types

English words are composed of six different syllable types. It’s important for students to be able to identify and understand each syllable type, because the syllable type affects the pronunciation of the vowel(s) within the syllable. Students benefit from explicit instruction on finding and reading all six syllable types.

Here is a brief explanation of each of the six syllable types:

•Closed syllables contain a vowel followed by one or more consonants. They may or may not have consonants before the vowel. The vowel makes its short sound. Examples: ath, hab, flect

•Open syllables are syllables that end with a vowel or a y. The vowel makes its long sound. Note that u has two possible long sounds (as in “flu” vs. “menu”). Y can also make one of two sounds (as in “baby” vs. “fly”). Examples: de, so, cy

•R-controlled syllables are syllables in which the vowel is followed by the letter r (as in, ar, er, ir, or, ur). The letter r changes the sound of the vowel. Examples: ar, bor, cern

•Silent e syllables are syllables that end with a vowel-consonant-e pattern. They are also referred to as VCe syllables. The vowel makes its long sound. Note that u can make two different long sounds (as in “mute” vs. “tune”). These syllables are generally, but not always, found at the end of real words in English. Examples: cuse, crete, ide

•Vowel team syllables are syllables in which two vowels come together to make a single sound. Some vowel team syllables don’t have two traditional vowels, but have a vowel followed by a w or a y. Some vowel teams can make different sounds in different words. Examples: poun, maw, doy

•Consonant-le syllables are syllables that end with a consonant followed by an -le. These syllables are almost always found at the end of real English words, except in the case of compound words. Examples: tle, ble, dle

Teaching the 6 syllable types

When teaching a new syllable type, you should first begin by introducing single-syllable words. You can create word lists for most syllable types using my free single-syllable word list generator. Closed syllables will be those with short vowels. R-controlled syllables will be those with r-controlled vowels. Silent e syllables (or VCe syllables) will be those with VCe vowels. Vowel team syllables will be those with vowel teams. Open syllables and consonant-le syllables are not included in the single-syllable word list generator because in real single-syllable words they are rare (in the case of open syllables) or nonexistent (in the case of consonant-le syllables).

When your students have mastered reading the syllables in isolation, its time to practice identifying and reading them in real words! In order to find syllables, your students will first need to identify all of the vowels in a word. This works because each syllable contains one or more vowel.

Once they have done this, they will need to determine where one syllable ends and the next begins. This can be tricky, because sometimes there isn’t a clear rule or pattern that tells where to split syllables. Generally, consonants that form common consonant blends or digraphs “stick together” in the same syllable, so a good next step is searching for common consonant combinations. Then, the students can split the syllables between unattached consonants.

Once the students have determined where to split the syllables, they can determine each syllable type. This will tell them how to pronounce the vowel(s). Then, they can try reading the word. If it doesn’t sound quite like a word that they recognize, they may need to try splitting the syllables elsewhere. Note that nonsense words can have more than one correct pronunciation, depending on where the syllables are split!

If this all sounds quite complicated, that’s because it is! Learning to read words with multiple syllables is a lot of work, and many students require very explicit instruction and many, many opportunities to practice before they master this skill. That’s where my printable multi-syllabic word lists come in! Students can practice splitting syllables, identifying syllable types, and reading multi-syllabic words over and over again until they build mastery and, eventually, fluency!

Ideas for using multi-syllabic word lists in the classroom

• Morning work: Students split and mark up syllables following the notation of the phonics program that you are using in the classroom. Students then practice reading the word list independently. All students can work on the same word list, or students can work on differentiated word lists depending on their individual needs. Consider creating “morning work packets” that contain one or two weeks of practice syllables for each group to make this more manageable!
• Small group practice: Create a word list using Focus Syllables that are challenging for your small group. During small group time, students can practice reading the word list for accuracy and/or fluency.
• Whole group practice: Teach your students a choral routine in which they find the vowels, split the syllables, identify each syllable type, identify the vowel sound, and read each syllable.
• Homework: Send home a word list of the week, differentiated to meet students’ needs, or adapted to the skills you are working on in the classroom. Students practice reading the word list every night.
• Assessments: Track mastery of sounds or syllable types using multi-syllabic word lists. Print a copy for you and a copy for the student. As they read, mark errors to track progress and learn what skills or sounds to focus on next. Our word lists are also useful for progress monitoring IEP goals that call for reading or spelling words with certain syllable types or certain numbers of syllables.

Ideas for using multi-syllabic word cards in the classroom

• Sorting: Create word cards that contain two or three kinds of syllables. Students can mark up the words, then sort the words in a double or triple Venn diagram according to the syllable types.
• Fluency: Use the word cards as flash cards in whole or small group to review previously-taught syllable types and help develop fluency. Alternatively, give students individualized and differentiated word card sets to practice reading individually or with a partner.
• Word of the Day: Introduce a new word every day that follows a syllabication pattern that you are practicing. Discuss the syllables in the word, the meaning of the word, and any other relevant features.
• Matching game: Print two copies of the same set of word cards. Students take turns flipping over two words and reading them. If they get a match, they keep both cards and take another turn!
• Go Fish: Print two or four copies of the same set of word cards to create your deck of cards. Students can play Go Fish using word cards instead of a regular card deck. It’s a perfect way to practice, because students need to read the words over and over in order to ask for the cards they need! Click here if you need a refresher on the rules of Go Fish.
• Hangman: Students play a game of hangman, but the word selected comes from a word list or word card deck that matches the syllable types you are practicing.