The Magic E Syllable

Once you have directly instructed closed syllables and students are able to accurately and quickly identify closed syllables, they are ready to apply the closed syllable short vowel sound and read closed syllable words.  Now they are ready to learn about magic e syllables and practice bouncing back and forth between the two.

Introducing the Magic E or Silent E syllable follows the same process as introducing the closed syllable.  Begin by defining the syllable and linking it to a hand sign.  In this case, I make a "V" with my pointer and middle finger.  Why a "V"? I believe the definition lends itself to that sign.  Let's explore how.

A Magic E syllable is a syllable that makes the long vowel sound and is spelled with a vowel followed by a consonant and silent e.  If you look at the word ate  and place your pointer finger under the first vowel and your middle finger under the silent e, you will form a "V" hand sign. This sign helps students to focus on the vowels.


I have found that my students use their hand signs while reading, especially when reading Magic e words.  I often see my students make the "V" sign when they identify a magic e word and then they are able to quickly decode it.  In addition, my students often check their spelling by drawing a "V" under the vowels in a word to make sure that they have changed tap to tape for example.

After students have gained accuracy and fluency identifying magic e syllables visually, they are ready to apply the long vowel sound and read magic e syllables. In addition, they will continue to review closed syllable words and differentiate between the two.  This process takes several weeks so be careful not to go too fast.   

Merging phonics, spelling, and syllabication

Let me just begin by saying that traditional spelling texts are NOT effective instructional tools.  Simply giving students lists of words to memorize by writing the given words five times each, writing the words using different colors, writing the words in various shapes, making crosswords, or making word searches with the words may seem like a good idea but those activities do not capitalize on what research tells us about good spellers.  True, good spellers do have a developed orthographic memory.  They can look at a word and determine if it looks right.  True, orthographic memory can be developed through repeated exposure to words but good spellers rely on so much more than orthographic memory.

Good spellers can hear all the sounds in words and instinctively listen for the number of syllables in words.  They know that short vowel sounds are found in closed syllables, that closed syllables are spelled with only one vowel, and the vowel must be followed by at least one consonant.  They apply phoneme graphing mapping or the ability to connect sounds with the letter or letters that represent that sound. They know the meanings of words and know that word origins make a difference as to how a word is spelled. In short, good spellers also have strong phonological and morphological awareness.

Just like you would never work out only one side of your body, teachers should not focus on building just one part of the spelling process. It is for that reason I advocate using the spelling text as a minimal resource rather than the main spelling instructional tool.  Some might ask, "If not the spelling text, than what should I use?" Good question.  The answer takes some time to explore but I will try to give a condensed overview.

Since we are directly teaching syllables, it makes sense to tie the phonics instruction to the syllable instruction.  For example, if you begin by teaching closed syllables, you will directly teach each of the short vowel sounds.  In addition, you can teach the phonics or orthographic rules related to /k/.  Students should know that /k/ is usually spelled with a c, k, or ck.  They should know that English words do not start with ck.  They should know that when /k/ is followed with an e or i, it is usually spelled with a k such as in the words kelp or king. When /k/ is followed by an a, o, or u it is usually spelled with a c such as cat, cot, and cut.  In addition, /k/ is spelled with a ck when it follows a short vowel sound such as in the word back. These phonics lessons can be directly instructed and students can be given ample opportunities to practice spelling using this knowledge through repeated word building activities and word sorts.  You see, rather than limiting students to a list of 10-20 specific words, teaching phonics patterns such as the patterns above will allow students to spell any word that matches the pattern. Suddenly, students can spell hundreds of words independently when they are actually writing rather than just on an isolated word test.

Of course, there are words that just need to be memorized such as the word was. It looks like a closed syllable and should make the short a sound. It doesn't.  Thus, we can teach students exceptions to the rules and give them multiple exposures to the correct spellings.  In fact, we must do that if we want students to be able to spell irregular words correctly rather than simply relying on phonetics.  It is about time that we blend research based practices to construct a truly effective and integrated word study component to our literacy block rather than relying on the status quo text book and teaching phonics, spelling, morphology and syllabication as separate entities.

Just a little Research behind syllable instruction

Dividing syllables

     If all closed syllable words a student came in contact with were only one syllable long, kids would be set. They would be able to identify the syllable as closed, apply the short vowel sound, and read the word.  Unfortunately, it is not that easy.  There are numerous words that are multisyllabic (having more than one syllable) in the English language.  Multisyllabic words are often the downfall of students but they don't have to be.  Just like we can teach students to identify closed syllables, we can teach them to identify the number of syllables in a word and then where to break the word to read each syllable component.
     As we know, each syllable is built around a vowel so the vowels are the key to knowing how many syllables are in a word.  For many words such as napkin, object, discuss, plastic, himself you can simply count the number of vowels to determine the number of syllables.  In the beginning, when all I have introduced is closed syllable words, I purposely choose words such as the above 2 syllable words to help students gain ample practice in focusing on the vowels to break words into syllables.  Then, I teach students to look at the word structure.  All of the above examples follow a VCCV (Vowel, Consonant, Consonant, Vowel) pattern because the structure is marked at the first vowel and continues to the next vowel.  
     The VCCV structure is divided between the consonants.  (nap/kin, ob/ject, and him/self) Once students are comfortable dividing this standard structure, words with s, l, and r blends as well as digraphs such as ck, ch, sh, th, ph, and wh can be introduced with the explanation that these blends and digraphs are usually NOT divided.  One example is the word enchant. Just by looking at the unrelated vowels and counting them, we can see that it has 2 syllables. Since we don't divide between the consonant digraph, we can consider it one consonant team so we divide between the consonant n and the consonant team ch (en/chant) which follows the division structure the students have already practiced.  True, there will be some words that don't follow the division rule but when students decode the syllables, they will approximate the word, which should allow them to self correct and continue reading.

Closed Syllables

Commonly, the first syllable taught is called a closed syllable.  A closed syllable is a syllable spelled with one vowel that makes the short sound and is followed by at least one consonant.  Examples include the words at, sit, chop, smash, and clutch.  In each case, there is only one vowel, the vowel makes the short sound, and the vowel is followed by at least one consonant. Some people experience confusion with words such as (on). They erroneously believe that a closed syllable must have a vowel that is "closed in" by a consonant on either side of the vowel.  However, the definition of a closed syllable only requires that at least one consonant be present after the vowel.

As with any new learning, students need ample practice to gain independence and fluency. The first step in teaching students about closed syllables is to provide them with definitions and examples/non examples of closed syllables until they are visually able to recognize a closed syllable pattern with accuracy and speed.  Then, they can apply their knowledge of the vowel sound, short in this case, to be able to read the word.  This is the point where many educators say, "I see how learning about syllables can help a child but when can I find time in my already busy schedule to add something else in?" Time is an important factor and it can be addressed by layering syllabication instruction with phonics and spelling instruction. One such method is a set of syllable introduction power points called Syllables in 5 Minutes a Day.
You can find more information about this product at my teachers pay teachers store: http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Jennifer-Johnson-6

The Syllables in 5 Minutes a Day power points were constructed to provide an introduction to syllables in the most efficient manner possible.  Teachers are able to start the powerpoint and lead students through visual identification on closed syllables, reading closed syllable pseudo words, and reading closed syllable real words.  Students are taught to apply a hand sign of a closed fist to "show" the syllable, then they say the vowel sound, and finally read the entire word.  This method places emphasis on the vowel sound because every syllable is built around a vowel sound.

Why should I teach the syllable types?

A syllable can be defined in its most simple form as a unit of spoken and written language built around a vowel sound.  Although there is some debate regarding whether there are six or seven different syllable types, most people agree that there are 6 types of syllables.  Knowledge of the syllables will unlock the treasure of the English language.
"The treasure?" you ask.  "How can a language full of exceptions be considered a treasure?" Some might say English is one of the most difficult languages to learn which explains why so many children struggle to learn to read and write English.  If that were true, there may be little educators could do to unlock the mystery of the language.  Some kids would be lucky enough to just "get it" and other would not.  Although this thought process is held by many educators, research disputes the claim.  Accomplished teachers who begin with a solid core curriculum and layer in supports designed to match individual students' needs are able to track growth.  One core component of solid reading instruction is a lesson bank  that directly teaches syllabication.
In the state of Texas, instruction in the syllable types is part of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) beginning in first grade.  More specifically, educators are to teach students to use common syllabication patterns to decode words including closed, open, final stable, vowel-consonant-e, vowel digraphs and diphthongs, and r controlled syllables.  As you can see, this specific list means instruction in syllables goes far beyond the ability of students to clap the syllables they hear in words.  Syllable instruction must be direct and systematic.  The next several posts will address how to teach syllabication directly and systematically.