A Complete Guide for Reading Instruction
This page teaches the types of syllables and the rules of syllabication, with clear explanations, examples, assessments, and practical classroom strategies. Understanding syllable types helps students decode unfamiliar words, spell accurately, and build reading fluency.
Table of Contents
- What Are Syllables?
- Why Study Syllables?
- Dictionary Syllables vs. Decoding Syllables
- Syllable Assessments and Progress Monitoring
- The Six Syllable Types
- How to Divide Words Into Syllables
- Additional Syllabication Rules and Exceptions
- Worked Examples of Syllable Division
- Effective Ways to Teach Syllabication
- Helpful Teaching Resources and Links
- References
1. What Are Syllables?
Syllables are the beats of a word when spoken aloud. Every syllable contains one vowel sound, and the number of vowel sounds in a word equals the number of syllables.
Examples:
- home (1 syllable – VCe pattern)
- sub/ject (2 syllables)
- pub/lish/ing (3 syllables)
2. Why Study Syllables?
The syllable type controls the vowel sound. Because vowels can make multiple sounds, identifying the syllable type usually reveals the correct pronunciation.
Research shows that explicit syllabication instruction:
- Helps students decode unfamiliar multisyllabic words
- Expands sight-word vocabulary
- Improves spelling and encoding skills
- Increases reading fluency and comprehension
Instruction in syllable skills is especially effective for remediation and structured literacy instruction (Torgesen, 2004; Moats, 2001; Curtis & Longo, 1999; Diliberto et al., 2009).
3. Dictionary Syllables vs. Decoding Syllables
Dictionaries divide words by morphemes (meaning units), not phonemes.
Example:
- Decoding: bi/king
- Dictionary: bīk-ing (macron indicates a long vowel)
When students are learning to read, we teach syllabication rules for decoding. Morphology and affixes are taught later during word analysis. Dictionaries always reflect morphological division.
4. Syllable Assessment and Progress Monitoring
Available Assessment
This assessment includes:
- Real and nonsense words
- Soft c and g
- -dge and -tch patterns
- Multisyllabic words and word endings
- Phonetically irregular words
Nonsense words reveal whether a student has memorized words or mastered phonetic patterns. Results guide phonics instruction and allow for progress monitoring.
5. The Six Syllable Types
If a student is stuck on a word, identifying the syllable type unlocks the vowel sound. Teaching students to mark syllables builds decoding confidence and accuracy.
1. Closed Syllables (VC)
A closed syllable has:
- One vowel
- At least one consonant after the vowel
- Usually a short vowel sound
Examples:
- sad
- rab/bit (two closed syllables)
Most common syllable type. There are 12 variations: CVC (cup), CVCC (hand), CCVCC (fresh), CCVC (trip), CVCCC (match), CVCCe (judge), CCVCCC (crutch), CCVCCe (grudge), CCCVCC (script), VCC (add), VC (in), VCCC (inch).
Exceptions (Glued/Welded Sounds): ang, ank, old, ild, ind, olt, ost (e.g., bang, wild, find, most)
2. Silent E Syllables (VCe)
A silent e syllable has:
- One vowel
- One consonant
- Final silent e
The vowel is long.
Examples:
- bone
- in/sane
This is the 3rd most common pattern. There are 4 variations: CVCe (race), CCVCe (shave), CCCVCe (strike), VCe (ate).
Exceptions: Words ending in -ve (e.g., have, give, olive) where the vowel is short because English words do not end in “v” alone.
3. Open Syllables (CV)
An open syllable ends with one vowel, which is long.
Examples:
- go
- re/fer
This is the 4th most common pattern. There are 2 variations: CV (we), CCV (she).
Exceptions: Unstressed a and i (e.g., Tampa, Alaska, complicated).
4. R-Controlled Syllables (Vr)
In r-controlled syllables, the vowel sound changes due to the r.
Examples:
- farm/er
- corn
er, ir, ur all make the same sound. Her bird burps. Her turn first.
The r-controlled syllable (Vr) is sometimes called the bossy r syllable. This syllable occurs when the vowel sound changes due to being followed by r.
Exception: When r is followed by another r (e.g., carry, berry), the vowel is often short.
5. Vowel Team & Diphthong Syllables (VV)
Two vowels work together to make one sound.
Examples:
- join
- main/stay
This is the 2nd-most-common pattern. There are 12 variations: CVVC (heat), CCVVC (treat), CVVCC (reach), CVV (pay), CCVV (play), CVVCe (leave), CCVVCC (bleach), CCVVCe (freeze), CCCVVC (sprain), VVC (oat), VVCC (each), and CCCVV (three).
What is the difference between a vowel digraph and a diphthong?
Read the whole article on Readsters.
Vowel Teams
ā ~ ai ay ea ey ei eigh
ē ~ ee ey ea ie/ei y
ī ~ ie igh y
ō ~ oa oe ow
ū ~ ue eu ew
ǖ ~ ue ou eu ew oe ui oo
other ~ oo aw au oi oy
6. Consonant-le Syllables (Cle)
A consonant followed by le forms a syllable. The e is there because every syllable has a vowel.
Examples:
- bub/ble
- ri/fle
Exception: In -stle endings, the t is silent (e.g., castle, whistle).
6. How to Divide Words Into Syllables
- Separate prefixes and suffixes
- Label vowels and consonants (start with the first vowel)
- Identify syllable patterns
7. Additional Syllabication Rules and Exceptions
- Every syllable has one vowel sound
- One-syllable words are never divided
- Blends and digraphs are typically not separated
- VC/CCV division is common with three medial consonants (con/tract)
- Divide after ck or x (nick/el, tax/i)
- Compound words are divided between base words (foot/ball)
- Remember that sight words do not necessarily follow the syllabication rules; for example, the word “have” has a silent e, but the letter “a” represents the short sound. This is because English words never end in “v” alone, so the “e” is there.
- When two or more consonants come between two vowels in a word, it is usually divided BETWEEN the two consonants. sis/ter but/ter hun/gry
- When a SINGLE consonant comes between two vowels in a word, it is divided AFTER the consonant if the vowel is SHORT. This is considered the 3rd division rule. lev/er cab/in hab/it
- But if this doesn’t sound right, divide BEFORE the consonant to make the vowel long! ba/sin fe/ver ma/jor
Specific Cases
- When dividing “liquid” into syllables, remember that “qu” has 2 phonemes—/k/ and /w/—that’s where we divide it in speech (lik-wid). It’s tricky when one phonogram has two sounds.
- When 2 vowels come together in a word, sometimes they are sounded separately. Divide the word between two vowels. di/et po/em ge/ode
- The suffixes “tion” and “ture” at the end of a word each create their own syllable. lo/tion pos/ture
- When a syllable or word ends in “al” or “el,” these are usually the last syllables. lev/el u/su/al
- The past tense “ed” at the end of a word forms its own syllable only when preceded by d or t. want/ed fund/ed and not in danced or played.
- Prefixes and suffixes make their own syllables. un/kind kind/ness thank/ful stuff/ing dis/like
8. Worked Examples of Syllable Division
-
- little: lit – tle (Closed and -Cle)
- petal: pet-al (Closed ~ because pe/tal isn’t a word.)
- turtle: tur-tle (Bossy r and -Cle)
- ankle: an-kle (Closed and -Cle)
- riddle: rid-dle (Closed and -Cle)
- arrow: ar–row (Bossy r and Vowel Team ~ ow)
- nickel: nick–el (ck is a digraph ~ don’t divide digraphs or blends)
- cotton: cot–ton (2 Closed syllables)
- student: stu–dent (Open and Closed)
- teacher: teach–er (Vowel Team and Bossy R)
- children: chil–dren (2 Closed)
- pottery: pot–ter–y (Closed, Bossy R, Open)
- learning: learn–ing (Vowel Team, Suffix)
- textbook: text–book (Closed, Vowel Team)
- watching: watch–ing (Closed, Suffix)
- screaming: scream–ing (Vowel Team, Suffix)
- misbehaving: mis–be–hav–ing (Prefix, Open, Closed, Suffix)
9. Creative and Effective Ways to Teach Syllabication
Syllabication is a tool, not an end goal. If a student can decode and encode the word accurately, the strategy has worked.
- Check out Sarah Snippets! She has a unique way of teaching syllable division. Students have letter tiles and separate the vowels, then determine the location of the center consonants!
Blends can’t be divided, and sk is a blend, but ba/sket doesn’t make sense! You can divide it in the center. The point of teaching syllabication is to develop a strategy for reading and spelling.
Students know that blends shouldn’t be divided. Which side should the cr go on?
Which way sounds right?
Students test out where the single center consonant goes. Which way sounds right?
How should the mpl be divided? Com is a prefix, and students will remember that blends (pl) cannot be divided, so com/plex would be the answer. However, we don’t teach syllable division as a final objective; rather, it serves as a tool for decoding and encoding. If a child divides it as comp/lex, and can read and spell it, then the decoding/encoding goal has been met.
Another Way to Divide Syllables
2. Another way to divide syllables is to clap the number of syllables in a word and make large scoops for each syllable. For example: important. Do not show the students the spelling of the word.
Then, the students write down the syllables they hear!
3. And yet another way to teach syllabication is to write the word – elephant – for the students to see. They clap it out. It has 3 syllables, so they take 3 cards. They examine the vowels in the word “elephant” and place one vowel on each card, as every syllable contains a vowel.
Then, they bring down the consonants.
10. Helpful Teaching Resources and Links
These Lakeshore multisyllabic word flashcards are a hands-on way to help students decode syllable by syllable. Students touch a textured dot under each syllable, read the word, and match it to a picture. I do not profit from this recommendation—I’m just sharing a resource I find useful.
- Strong Reader Syllable Tool (Free)—copy and paste a text, and it breaks it into syllables
- Syllable Counter
- Syllabication Rules
- Another PDF of Rules
- Here is a 344-page unit! There are decodable passages by syllable type! * Closed syllables p. 13 * Open syllables p. 30 * Vowel team syllables p. 48 * R-controlled syllables p. 60 * Silent e syllables p. 79 * Consonant -le syllables p. 95
- Assign these virtual syllabication games!
- Here are FREE stories from UFLI to teach syllabication! The stories listed below are their multisyllabic word stories.
11. References
Credit: Mary Briggs, Orton-Gillingham Course, Commonwealth Learning Center, Newton, MA (2010)
This Syllabication Types and Rules page is available as an editable instant download.