Syllables help

[Learner]

We are havinghard time figuring out how many syllables does a word has..

DS can igure the easy ones (or the most obvious ones) like master, butter, picture,table...

but still he gets wrong most of time.. ANy suggestions what should be my resources...either in terms of books or sites..

I would appreciate all your help!

[Mandamom]

Hum the word and see if that helps him figure out how many syllables are in each word.

[Just Robyn]

Unfortunately, many of the syllables taught in spelling programs are not the syllables we actually pronounce. Beyond the obvious it is a matter of memorize it (based on spelling) or don't worry about it.

[burleygirl]

What about looking at the # of vowels or vowel sounds in each word, e.g. solicitor has 4 vowels; hence, 4 syllables or librarian?

 

Try the Noah Webster's book on http://www.donpotter.net/pdf_files/websters-spelling-book-1824.pdf It breaks mulitsyllable words into their syllables.

Edited April 5, 2011 by burleygirl
Add the link

[Angie in VA]

I've clapped the syllables but what helped my ds the most was placing his hand beneath his chin and every time his chin hits his hand, that's a syllable.

[Learner]

What about looking at the # of vowels or vowel sounds in each word, e.g. solicitor has 4 vowels; hence, 4 syllables or librarian?

 

 

Is this rule always true??:001_huh:

If so, its an easy fix..

[Angie in VA]

Is this rule always true??:001_huh:

If so, its an easy fix..

 

Well, there's the whole silent e thing and there's this exception: rhythm.

[Learner]

How about the word "Hurry"

it has only one vowel"u", but its not 1 syllable...

 

Further, ds need to know how he divide a word eg: "beginning" based on syllables like:

beg–in–ning

or

beg–inn–ing

or

be–gin–ning

 

Hope anyone can shed some light here!

[ChrissySC]

I got this one for you. Megawords uses the syllabic approach, but I had a hard time remembering where to actually divide a word.

 

http://www.howmanysyllables.com/

 

:) This is your friend!

 

beginning

 

be-gin-ning (I can't spell :P, but I know syllables, LOL)

Edited April 6, 2011 by ChrissySC
Can't spell.

[creekmom]

I highly recommend the book Teaching Syllable Patterns. It comes with a disc that has games/activites you can print to teach anything/everything you ever wanted to know about syllables.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Syllable-Patterns-Comprehension-Adolescent/dp/1934338397/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302046693&sr=1-1

[ChrissySC]

Rules for adding -ing :)

 

 

http://www.eflnet.com/tutorials/spellinging.php

[Angie in VA]

How about the word "Hurry"

it has only one vowel"u", but its not 1 syllable...

 

Isn't the y acting as vowel there? "Yuh" is the consonant sound and "ih" (short i), "aye" (long i) and "ee" (long e sound) are the vowel sounds Y can make.

 

be–gin–ning

 

This one is right.

 

BEE (long e, open syllable, long vowel)

 

GIN (hard g, it can be soft before e, i or y) but the i in this syllable is short b/c it's a closed syllable

 

and "ning" The 2 n's next to each other separate at the syllable break.

 

At least, that's how I understand it. There are much brighter minds here who can help you more!

Edited April 5, 2011 by Angie in VA
to correct where the quotes are

[joyfulhomeschooler]

:bigear: I have been wondering this same thing for a while now. I would love to use websters but can't figure out how to implement it.

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Explode The Code book 4 goes over the syllable division rules, open and closed syllables, etc. We have switched over to Webster's method too, and Elizabeth is running a thread here where she explains her weekly Webster's speller schedule she is using with her son. If you search for the tag Webster or Syllabary, you'll probably find it. Good luck!

[CourtneyChn]

There are the same number of syllables as vowel sounds, but that's not always the same as the number of vowels. The word 'found' has two vowels but only one vowel sound, so one syllable.

[weddell]

How about the word "Hurry"

it has only one vowel"u", but its not 1 syllable...

 

Y can be a vowel. It is only a consonant when it makes the yuh sound, like yarn.

 

The hand under the chin trick works because vowel sounds make you open your mouth to say them. The only problem with this method is that you have to say the word normally! Sometimes kids exaggerate the sounds and add an "uh" sound to the end of a consonant, making it seem like a syllable when it isn't. DD can take a word like "car" and say "cuh-ar" and tell me it has two syllables, when in reality she is just exaggerating the c sound by giving it a short u/schwa vowel sound at the end and thus opening her mouth twice for a 1 syllable word.

 

I think ElizabethB has syllable division rules somewhere on her pages. Sometimes I have trouble finding them, but they might be under the How to Tutor pages? Maybe she or someone else can jump in with the link.

Edited April 6, 2011 by weddell

[Learner]

I think ElizabethB has syllable division rules somewhere on her pages. Sometimes I have trouble finding them, but they might be under the How to Tutor pages? Maybe she or someone else can jump in with the link.

 

 

Looked for this one, but never found it..

f someone can post any link here..

Everyone thanks, I am exploring all resources you suggested..

[Learner]

I got this one for you. Megawords uses the syllabic approach, but I had a hard time remembering where to actually divide a word.

 

http://www.howmanysyllables.com/

 

:) This is your friend!

 

beginning

 

be-gin-ning (I can't spell :P, but I know syllables, LOL)

 

 

Wow, this opne is wonderful.. I can refer it whenever in doubt, but it wont tell how to divide a word in syllables.. will it..?

I checked the site, and didn't find that part.

[agdah]

Looked for this one, but never found it..

f someone can post any link here..

Everyone thanks, I am exploring all resources you suggested..

 

I think it is here .

[ElizabethB]

Syllable division rules and exercises, link # 6 and 7 at the bottom of my how to tutor page:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Reading/howtotutor.html

[Occasionally]

There are the same number of syllables as vowel sounds, but that's not always the same as the number of vowels. The word 'found' has two vowels but only one vowel sound, so one syllable.

 

That's how we do it--remembering that the schwa is a vowel sound.

[ChrissySC]

If you click around on that site, you find this .... http://www.howmanysyllables.com/howtocountsyllables.html

 

Just don't forget that a consonant sound with a long vowel sound will be a syllable ...

 

hurry

 

hur - ry

 

"ry" CV - has a long vowel sound

 

be- come

ve-to

 

Double consonants are split ...

 

pup-py

 

let-ter

 

sim-ple

 

bet-ter

 

This covers most of the funnies. :)

 

You might want to get a list of the diagraphs too. This is so you do not hypen them :)

[MerryAtHope]

There are some great ideas on how to explain syllables to your child in this article on syllable types .

Also, here are some game-like approaches you might enjoy.

 

First, make sure your child understands what a syllable is. A syllable has only one vowel sound. It can have zero, one, or more consonant sounds, but must have only one vowel sound. (There can be more than one vowel in a syllable, as with vowel teams like the ‘ee’ in meet, when two vowels stand for one sound.).

 

Here are some activities that might help your child identify syllables:

 

 

• For each syllable, jump in place. "Di-no-saur" would be three hops. "Happy" would be two hops. Model this for your child several times per day: first you do it and then he does it. Or make it a game: you say a word for him to hop, and then he says a word for you to hop.
  

 

 

• Compare syllables to beats in music. Let your child clap hands, snap fingers, or beat a drum with every syllable.
  

 

 

• Sing simple songs with a STRONG BEAT that your child knows. For example, Yankee Doodle. For each beat in the song, clap. "Yank – ee - Doo- dle - went - to -town -a -ri - ding - on- a -po -ny." Each of you could also beat out the rhythm on a homemade drum (box and spoon, or oatmeal container and chopsticks). Call it music class, and work on it a little each day. Make sure you pick songs where only one syllable is sung per beat.
  

 

 

• Play “going to the zoo.†Each person takes turns calling out animal names and then you can all hop, beat, or clap to the syllables.
  

 

 

• Tape written syllables onto blocks and have them build the word with the blocks. Then they can “see†how many syllables are in the word by counting the blocks. Make sure they also say each syllable as they place the blocks, because the goal is for your child to hear the syllables.
  

 

 

• Use compound words. Clap once for “hot,†then once for “dog,†and then put it together and clap “hotdog.â€
  

 

 

• Try clapping this rhyme with your children. Tell them ahead of time, “On some of the beats, there is more than one syllable. Some of those syllables snuck in without permission! Listen carefully for the sneakers and see if you can ‘catch’ them, and tell me how many there are.â€
  

Clap the four beats as you say, “One, Two, Buckle My Shoe.†Stop at the end of this phrase and ask your children if they caught any sneakers. If they guess part or all of them, praise them & see if they can tell you how many. You could say, “That’s right, “buckle,†and “my†too! I said all of that during only one clap! How many syllables is that? You count two? Let me try…’buc-kle-my…’ I count THREE! Those sneakers! Let’s try the next line!â€

 

Three, four, shut the door (“shut the†has two syllables on one beat)

Five, six, pick up sticks (“pick up†has two syllables on one beat)

Seven, eight, lay them straight (“seven†and “lay them†both have two syllables on one beat).

Nine, ten, a big fat hen. (“a big fat†has three syllables on one beat)

 

Some children confuse the idea of “sounds†with “syllables,†and will tell you how many sounds a word has. If that happens, say, “You’re right, ‘cat’ has 3 sounds. A syllable is different from the sounds though. A syllable is a group of sounds put together in one beat.†Then demonstrate by clapping with the Yankee Doodle song slowly to show them the chunks.

 

This is a hard concept for some children, so don’t lose heart, your child will get it! Merry :-)

[Laura Corin]

I used to get Hobbes to clap them - it seemed to work. One clap for each syllable.

 

Laura

[kitten18]

Hum the word and see if that helps him figure out how many syllables are in each word.

Wow, I've never seen that suggestion before. That works GREAT. Well, for me anyway, I haven't tried it with the kids yet.:tongue_smilie: