What are syllable types and why do they matter - Part 1

*This is part 1 of the series about syllables and syllable types in reading instruction.  

The ultimate goal of reading is for our children to achieve high levels of comprehension. We want this for ALL children. Reading comprehension is a product of printed word recognition and language comprehension (Gough & Tunmer, 1986). This means that weakness in either (or both) domains leads to weak reading comprehension. 

The Simple View of Reading

The Simple View of Reading, by Gough & Tunmer, breaks apart the very complex elements needed for reading into two broad categories: word recognition and language comprehension. Reading comprehension is a product of these two categories. 

Word recognition, or the accurate and fast retrieval of decoded word forms, is essential for developing reading comprehension. Students who can not accurately read the words on the page will not fully comprehend what is being read. This automated word reading frees up mental resources and allows for close attention to the meaning of the text. The skills acquired under word recognition (decoding, word-level reading, and phonological awareness) are paramount for beginning and novice readers. Read more about building automaticity in reading here. 

Additionally, if a student needs a stronger understanding of language, then reading comprehension is impacted. Reading comprehension is a product of these two domains, and weakness on either side will result in a reading comprehension deficiency. 

Students with dyslexia need additional support and instruction focusing on the word recognition domain. While ALL students benefit from an explicit and systematic approach to connecting speech to print, it is essential for dyslexic and struggling readers. 

The path to achieving this goal should be rooted in the science of reading and provide students with reliable tools for word reading. One of these tools is explicitly teaching the six syllable types.

Why Teach the Six Syllables?

Teaching the Six Syllable Types provides a robust foundation for students and provides students with word attack strategies and tools to approach unknown words. As teachers, we cannot assume that children automatically know the sounds linked to letters. Therefore, we need to explicitly teach sound-symbol correspondences and word attack strategies or ways to break words apart into smaller, more manageable pieces. At the base of this is the knowledge of sounds and syllables. 

What is a Syllable?

A syllable refers to a unit of spoken language that includes one vowel sound. The vowel sounds are the most resonant or sonorous sounds in a syllable. All vowels are voiced, and most syllables have the vowel as the peak or nucleus. I teach my students that a syllable is a word or part of a word with one vowel sound. I emphasize this over a written vowel letter because some syllables in the English language do not have a written vowel but have a vowel sound.

Syllables without a written vowel letter are called syllabic consonants. If you speak American English, the consonants l, r, and nasals m, n, and /ng/ can be syllabic. Think of the word rhythm. Say it aloud. Do you hear two spoken syllables? What do you notice about the second syllable? The m is a syllabic consonant in which we produce a slight vowel sound within the syllable without a written vowel. 

How to Help Students Identify Syllables?

Teachers use several different strategies to help students identify syllables within words. We may begin this task with phonological awareness activities, where students count or clap out the number of syllables in a word. For many students with dyslexia, this is a difficult task and needs scaffolds to break down the concept and identification of a syllable. 

First, we can bring awareness to what happens when we produce a vowel sound. The articulatory features of all vowel sounds show that our mouth is open and our voice is engaged. Articulatory features refer to using voice, placement, and manner of our tongue, lips, and mouth as we make individual speech sounds. Explicitly teaching these to students benefits phonemic awareness, reading, and spelling and aids in identifying syllables in words. Read more about articulatory features here. 

Bringing awareness to the articulatory features creates a multi-sensory approach to understanding syllables. All vowels are open and voiced. Hand movements and verbal cues give students a multi-sensory approach to determining a syllable within a word. Watch the video above for a quick multi-sensory cue for syllables. 

Another scaffold to help students identify and "feel" the syllables in words is to have them place their elbows on the table and then place their chin in their hands. I have students put some weight into their hands by resting their chins on them. When we say a word, our mouth will push against our hands when it opens - this is the vowel sound within a word.

I remind students that a syllable is a word or part of a word with one vowel sound and that we have learned that all vowel sounds are open and voiced. This means that when our mouth opens, it is the vowel sound. The students will feel their chin open/drop in their hands on the vowel sound. This multi-sensory scaffold is helpful for those students who cannot count or clapt the number of syllables within words. See video below for example of chin in hands.

How to scaffold when counting the # of syllables - video 2 by Casey

Before moving on to syllable types and syllable division for reading and spelling instruction, we must ensure that students understand the concept of syllables. These tips and scaffolds can benefit those students who struggle to understand the concept of syllables so that we have a strong foundation for reading and spelling. Stay tuned for additional parts in this series. 

Have you tried any of these scaffolds to teach students about syllables?

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