Syllables Teaching Resources
Open the door to understanding both closed syllables and open syllables in your classroom this school year with printables, worksheets, activities, games, and digital teaching resources to help students make sense of this unit of pronunciation.
What Is a Syllable?
You may be new to teaching this part of the English curriculum, but perhaps you remember sitting in a classroom as a child with your hand beneath your chin as you pronounced words. Each time your chin hit your hand, you counted. Or maybe you clapped along as you slowly pronounced words, slapping your hands together as the chunks of the words containing vowels were broken up?
Both are simple but popular methods of counting syllables, a key component of learning this standard of English. But wait, what are syllables?
A syllable, by definition, is a part of a word that has a vowel in it.
For example, let's say you have the word open. This word is made up of two syllables — the vowel "o" stands on its own as one syllable, and "pen" is the second part of the word containing a vowel.
Syllables are often described as the phonological building blocks of words as they help us organise the speech sounds within a word.
Some of the benefits of learning about syllables include the following:
- Students become better readers and writers
- Students develop spelling skills
- Syllables form the basis of haiku writing in year 4 and 5.
Types of Syllables
Syllables can be made up of just vowels or a vowel and accompanying consonants. To differentiate, syllables are broken down into 6 main types:
- Open syllables: An open syllable ends with a vowel sound that is spelled with a single vowel letter. The vowel sound in an open syllable is a long vowel sound. In the example above, the "o" in open is an open syllable.
- Closed syllables: A closed syllable ends with a consonant, and the vowel in this type of syllable is short, such as the "e" in "pen" in the example above.
- R-controlled syllable: Words like bar and far are examples of r-controlled syllables that contain a vowel before the letter "r." This "r" dictates how the vowel sounds.
- Vowel-consonant-e syllable: You will typically find this type of syllable at the end of a word.
- Vowel team syllable: When there are two vowels next to one another in a word, forming a new sound, you have what's known as a vowel team syllable. For example, the "ou" in "sound" is a vowel team syllable.
- Consonant+l-e or Final Stable Syllable: This is another syllable type that is often found at the end of the word, such as the "-ble" at the end of the word "syllable."
How to Teach Syllables
To make your syllable lesson plans easy, the expert teachers on the Teach Starter team have created syllable sorting activities, open and closed syllable tasks, and more activities to add to your lessons. Explore the collection below!
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Santa's Syllable Sort - Christmas Reading Centre
Practise breaking words into syllables with our Santa’s Syllable Christmas Literacy Centre.
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Syllable Types - Teaching Presentation
Teach students about the six syllable types with this comprehensive interactive teaching presentation.
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Pixel Art Syllable Types
Consolidate understanding of syllable types with these appealing worksheets.
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Counting Syllables Worksheets
Five worksheets that allow students to consolidate their understanding of syllables.
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Syllables Treasure Hunt - Interactive Activity
Practise the correct method of breaking words into their syllables with this engaging interactive activity.
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Counting, Blending and Segmenting Syllables Interactive Activity
Practise blending, segmenting and counting syllables in words with an Interactive activity.
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Identifying Syllable Types - Worksheets
Practise breaking words into syllables and identifying the corresponding syllable types with this set of six worksheets.
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Multisyllable Words Worksheets
Build multisyllable word decoding skills with a Science of Reading based worksheet pack.
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Syllable Type Mazes - Worksheets
Strengthen students’ understanding of the six types of syllables with this set of 6 syllable mazes.
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Syllable Types – Single Syllable Interactive Activity
Identify types of syllables in single syllable words with this Google Slides Interactive activity.
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Spinning Syllables Game
Create words using a variety of syllable types with these spinners.
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Syllable Types Bingo
Practise identifying the six syllable types in common words with this fun and engaging bingo game.
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Syllable Types Match-Up Worksheets
Identify and match words to the correct syllable types with this set of five worksheets.
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Colour by Syllable Type - Worksheet
Practise identifying the six syllable types in common words with this colour-coding activity.
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Counting Syllables Sorting Activity - Penguins
Help these freezing cold syllable penguins escape the frigid water by sorting them onto the correct ice floes.
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Types of Syllables Posters
Remind your students about the most common syllable types with this set of classroom display posters.
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How Many Syllables? Sorting Activity
Practise segmenting and counting syllables in words with this set of 24 picture sorting cards.
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Syllable Types and Syllable Division
Divide multisyllabic words into syllables and identify their syllable types with this Google Slides interactive activity.
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Syllable Count Board Game
Segment and count up to 4 syllables with this game board and set of 33 picture cards.
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Syllable Game
A simple game for students to work out the number of syllables in common words.
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Syllable Puzzles - Apple Matching Game
Practise segmenting, blending, and identifying types of syllables in words with a set of apple-themed puzzles.
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Pumpkin Syllables Sorting Center
Practise segmenting and counting syllables in words with a syllable sorting activity.
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Which Syllable Type Is It? - Interactive Activity
Learn about and identify the six syllable types with this engaging digital resource.
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Syllable Types - Cut and Paste Worksheets
Identify and match words to the correct syllable types with this set of three treasure-themed worksheets.
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Syllable Types Sorting Activity
Practise identifying and sorting syllable types in two- and three-syllable words with this treasure-themed sorting activity.
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Labelling Syllables - Interactive Activity
Practise identifying syllable types in two- and three-syllable words with this engaging interactive activity.
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Split and Label Syllables - Interactive Activity
Practise breaking words into syllables and labelling each syllable with its corresponding syllable type.
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Syllable Type Puzzles - Interactive Activity
Learn about the six syllable types by solving word puzzles with this interactive drag and drop activity.
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Missing Syllables - Interactive Activity
Identify the missing syllables in a range of common words with this interactive drag and drop activity.
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I Spy Syllable Types - Worksheets
Identify and colour words according to their syllable types with this set of six worksheets.
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Open and Closed Syllables Match Up Activity
Practise identifying open and closed syllables with a rainbow-themed matching activity.
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Word Study List - Consonant + LE
Introduce and explore two-syllable words containing a consonant + le syllable with this extensive list.