English Has 7 Types of Syllables
There are 7 types of syllables found in the American English Language. My students always get excited when I tell them this. Our language is rich with words, yet all of our words only contain 7 types of syllables. Wow! That sounds manageable to learn. When students are familiar with all 7 types of syllables and have been given explicit instruction in American English spelling rules/ generalizations they will be able to spell (and read) with a much higher degree of accuracy. Silver Moon Spelling Rules teaches the following types of syllables during spelling instruction.
| 1. Closed | This syllable has one vowel that is followed by one or more consonants. The vowel is “closed in” by the consonant(s) following it. |
| 2. Open | This syllable ends with a single vowel. |
| 3. Unit | This syllable contains three or four letters that say an unexpected sound. Basic units look like closed syllables, except they can’t be sounded out like a closed syllable can be sounded out. |
| 4. Silent E | This syllable contains a single vowel, a consonant, then the letter e. |
| 5. Vowel Team | This syllable has two vowels next to each other that say one vowel sound. |
| 6. Bossy R | This syllable contains one or two vowels followed by a single letter r. The r sound is more prominent and takes over the sound of the vowel. |
| 7. Consonant - le | This type of syllable has three letters - one consonant, one l, and one e. |
Reading and Spelling Go Hand-in-Hand
Of course, students will need to know how to divide words into syllables in order to accurately identify the types of syllables in a given word. Our, “Easy 3 Step Guide for Syllable Division Rules” gives directions for teaching syllable division rules. Learners benefit from step-by-step directions when reading (decoding) as opposed to only relying on hearing syllable breaks auditorily. When spelling (encoding) students hear the syllable breaks, spell each syllable, then check their work with their syllable division rules. This promotes critical thinking and increases spelling accuracy because it allows students to more clearly see any errors they may have made when applying spelling rules/generalizations. Syllable division goes hand-in-hand with reading and spelling.
Download the entire “7 Types of Syllables Guide” at, www.silvermoonspellingrules.com. Use this guide to assist your teaching and enrich student learning.
Here is a snapshot of page one of this guide.
Picture this
...it was the first day of school and I was hired as a special education teacher to teach 4th/5th grade students with learning disabilities. A 5th-grade boy walks in the door, but instead of looking for his seat, he makes a beeline straight for me. Drew was tall with bright red curly hair. He had hair that didn’t grow so much in length as it did in volume. I could see immediately that Drew was out-going and charismatic. He proceeded to stop right in front of me and introduced himself with a hearty handshake. Drew shared with me that he was dyslexic and that I wouldn’t be able to teach him how to read, but that I shouldn’t worry because his private tutor would. To say he got my attention would be an understatement. I didn’t know what to say. We hadn’t worked together in previous years, so I didn’t have a track record of letting him down. I guess you could say he had my curiosity.
I Knew Nothing about Dyslexia
I began to wonder if I’d had other students with dyslexia but hadn’t realized it. Having a degree in special education and a National Board Certification as an Exceptional Needs Specialist, I was surprised that I knew nothing about dyslexia. What I did know was this - I had noticed peculiar reading and spelling errors among many of my students with reading disabilities. I also knew that I was frustrated. Most of my students did not catch up to grade level despite hard work, having qualified teachers, and caring parents.
Everything Changed
With Drew’s introduction, everything changed. I immersed myself in reading research and turned into a sponge. I learned that dyslexia affects a surprising 20% of our population and a whopping 80% of special populations (learning disabled students). The year I met Drew was the same year my daughters started kindergarten. Yes, the plot is about to thicken - especially with twins! Everything started to fall into perspective. You see, my daughters went into kindergarten and already had learning difficulties and speech delays. Kindergarten should be fun and games, right? Kids love kindergarten because they learn through playing. This wasn’t exactly the case. My girls weren’t connecting letters with sounds or identifying letters, they weren’t spelling their names correctly or reading sight words, they were guessing at words (word calling) and they couldn’t consistently rote count or rhyme. The list goes on and on. They were struggling and frustrated and they were only 5 years old. It didn’t take long for me to realize that both my daughters were dyslexic. What a whirlwind of a year!
Reading and Spelling Began to Make Sense
They had two different teachers and neither had any idea why they weren’t learning like their peers. They both told me to practice more at home with school materials, to use more learning games and watch more educational cartoons like the LeapFrog Letter Factory, etc. None of this helped so I took matters into my own hands. I pursued Orton Gillingham (Structured Literacy) training so I could teach all students to read, not just those who learned to read naturally using more traditional approaches. Teaching reading and spelling using a Structured Literacy approach made all the difference. Reading and spelling began to make sense for my daughters and for my students. I had multiple students make several years gain in reading level in only one school year. We were truly closing the gap between student reading level and grade level expectations! I often reflect on the fact that my daughters and students didn’t change anything to bring their reading levels up; my knowledge base and my techniques are what changed.
Inspired to Create Silver Moon Spelling Rules
I was so inspired by all of the measurable growth I saw after shifting my teaching approach that I went on to create my own Orton Gilingham based multisensory spelling curriculum, Silver Moon Spelling Rules. Some might wonder why I did this when what I had was clearly working. Truth is, that as I continued taking trainings to deepen my knowledge base in Orton methods I felt spelling rules were really boring and difficult to remember. I decided they could use some sprucing up to make them more memorable and fun. I created Silver Moon Spelling Rules so teachers, specialists and parents would have a fun and engaging way to make spelling rules more sensical, memorable, motivating and relevant for students. For struggling learners, it’s not sheer effort alone that builds understanding, but a combination of effort and the right teaching methods. Having engaging tools to support your teaching methods is definitely an exciting bonus!
~Written by, Kelly Steinke, Creator of Silver Moon Spelling Rules
rights (we affectionately called them nerds). The majority of my classmates had somewhere between 15-30 stars and a few "not so gifted and talented" kids only had 5-10 stars. And there I was, dead last with exactly zero stars. I remember feeling like the dumbest kid in the world.Well, the story ends well. I recognized that I had strengths in math and science and eventually learned that I wasn't dumb, but that I needed to figure out how I learned.Poor Spelling is often a Sign of Dyslexia or other Learning Disabilities
Unfortunately, some are not so lucky. Researchers believe that 15-20% of the population is affected by dyslexia, with the top 10% being severe enough to need some type of learning intervention and other supports and accommodations. Dyslexia is a learning disability that is neurobiological in origin and is considered a language acquisition disorder that primarily affects reading fluency, spelling, and reading words in isolation. There are many other symptoms of dyslexia and they persist despite having quality teachers, caring and involved parents and regular school attendance.
For more information, contact Kelly at KSteinke@Readlearningservices.com.
Most people don’t realize that only 4% of American English words are truly irregular and have to be learned through whole-word methods such as memorizing. Building understanding through applying spelling rules takes away the need to rely on memorization to spell words.
Secondly, memory can be an area of trouble with students who have learning disabilities. This means relying on memory presents an even bigger disadvantage to the struggling speller. Select a program that clearly teaches spelling rules, provides a lot of practice applying the spelling rules, and presents the rules in a logical sequence. It can be very confusing and defeating for students to practice spelling rules on words that contain additional spelling rules that they have not yet learned.
Learning objectives should be presented in a logical order beginning with the most basic words, concepts, and rules. Each lesson should build off previously mastered material and progressively become more complex. It is necessary for lessons to provide review and use a controlled word list so students are not presented with rules that haven’t been taught.
Struggling spellers are not passive learners. They will not learn to become good spellers by working independently on activities in workbooks or worksheets. They need a high level of student to teacher interaction so they are actively engaged in learning. Often times the most engaging programs are explicit or direct instruction programs. These are scripted programs that are easy to facilitate even if you don’t have a background in education.
Now a days many products and programs are labeled multi-sensory. Multi-sensory means you are using more than one of your senses (auditory, tactile/kinesthetic, visual) to do something. This is good practice, but the brain will remember information better when learning is paired with three or more senses at the same time. When this occurs it is called, “simultaneously multi-sensory”.
Students benefit from lesson plans with a consistent sequence that includes verbal and nonverbal cueing and prompting. A model-lead-test approach is a proven method when it comes to working with struggling learners. The teacher will model new skills, guide the students through applying the skills, then test to see if the skill has been learned and can be used independently.
High quality spelling programs, spelling programs that are steeped in research on learning disabilities, include real words and nonsense words. Nonsense words are make-believe words that sound silly. This is important because the learner will not be able to spell nonsense words visually (does it look right?) or by memory. The instructor will know, without a doubt, if the learner understands the spelling rule/skill that has been taught.
In math, students need to master basic addition before learning to multiply. In spelling, students need to master foundational spelling rules before moving onto more complex rules. There are rules for one-syllable words, but there are also spelling rules for two-syllable words and three syllable words. Never assume students will master learning targets without direct instruction and never push a student through a program thinking they’ll get it eventually. Build a strong foundation of skills so that other learning can take hold.
This is a question I'm asked on a regular basis. If you've tried spelling program after spelling program with no real success, then you know first hand that not all programs work for all types of spellers. Some students seem to be natural spellers while others - not so much.
The English language contains a lot of spelling rules and these rules often have exceptions or other nuances to be aware of when teaching spelling. Of course there's more to becoming a good speller than learning spelling rules, but spelling rules are a great place to begin.
Difficulty with Word Sorts
One area of difficulty for struggling spellers often comes with an activity called the "word sort". Word sorts have gotten a bad rap. Word sorts are not inherently inappropriate for struggling spellers, but the manner in which they are often used can make them confusing and counterproductive. Many spelling programs ask students to search for patterns within words and sort words into their respective categories. Hence the term, "word sort". All too often elementary students are sent home with a sandwich bag of cut apart words containing several different spelling patterns that often produce the same sound or very similar sounds. They are asked to sort them for homework. Sometimes students need to write their completed sorts on a piece of paper, but other times not. The goal of this activity is to help students learn their spelling words by tuning their attention to visual patterns within the words. This, of course, will not benefit struggling spellers and readers if it's not paired with quality instruction. Word sorts are supported in research provided students are given the words orally first and students understand the concepts being sorted - either guided to discover on their own or are directly taught the concept. Unfortunately, what happens all too often is that very little direction is given surrounding the word sorting activities. At the beginning of the year - yes, hopefully. But then it's often expected that kids "get it". It's not the word sort that is problematic, but the lack of teaching and modeling that should go with it that can be problematic. Without this, word sorting can turn into an activity that creates a lot of stress for students and parents. If a traditional "word sort" is limited to cutting and sorting ... students who struggle with spelling and reading are often left guessing which leads to confusion. Struggling spellers do not learn to spell simply by memorizing visual letter patterns.
Spelling Rules Aren't Taught Explicitly
I teach spelling rules explicitly. It's troublesome when a spelling curriculum does not directly teach reliable spelling rules or when they are not taught clearly and directly. When spelling rules are taught in an appropriate manner spelling will make more sense and the student will gain understanding. Instead of a word sort I like to use something I call a, "Rule Sort". When we have three or four rules that students are almost to mastery with, we will "rule sort". The student is given the names of the targeted spelling rules and a stack of words that follow one or more of the rules. Students sort their spelling words according to the spelling rules found in the words. This encourages critical thinking and is done after lots of explicit instruction, modeling and guiding have been given. Rule sorts can also be used as a review activity to bring back concepts previously learned.
Spelling Patterns can be Abstract
Another area of difficulty is with the way concepts are presented within a program and how much time is taken to really dive deep and develop student understanding of cornerstone concepts. Spelling patterns can be very abstract for struggling spellers if the reason for the pattern (syllable type and/or spelling rule) hasn't been explained, practiced with repetition, and mastered before students are asked to work independently. Abbreviations are often used to build an understanding of letter/sound patterns. I've seen many students brought to tears over this because it only adds to their confusion. Some examples include: CVC, CCVC, CVCe, CVCC, etc. If students are not taught a deep understanding of how these patterns af
fect sounds within words, they will see these abbreviations as random strings of letters. Directionality confusion and transpositions are also an issue. Where does the C go? Is the V here? What's a vowel again? Merely identifying a pattern does not build understanding, especially if everything is done visually. Students need to identify syllable types and spelling rules, but they also need to know how to read the sounds within each syllable accurately and understand why these patterns produce the sounds they do.
Too Many Options Presented at Once
Other times, spelling programs present too much information at one time. The /sh/sound can be spelled 15 different ways depending on the word it’s in. If all, or even a third of these patterns are introduced at the same time it will confuse the student because there is no hard and fast way to determine which one to use when.
Building Understanding
If you search spelling rules online, you will find a lot of resources and programs. But, which resources are the best, most reliable, and accurate? Even if you have that determined, what is the best way to present/teach a rule based system of spelling? It’s one thing to have the content that needs to be taught. It’s a completely different skill to teach the material in a way that builds understanding and allows students to learn without become confused or overwhelmed. Structured Literacy (OG) based approaches have done the best job at distilling and presenting spelling rules in a manner that does not confuse students, but builds understanding. If your spelling instruction is not working for some of your students, it may be time to try a different approach. Focus on building understanding through explicit teaching of spelling rules, syllable types and corresponding sounds.
Written by: Kelly Steinke, Founder READ Learning Educational Services, LLC
“Sound it out” is a common direction that students are given when they can’t read a word. “Sound it out” makes sense to most of us because it’s what most readers do when they can’t read a word. They sound it out. But, what if you don’t read like most readers? What if you are unable to read by sounding out? Or, what if “sounding it out” only works some of the time? That’s when you’ll see students relying on memory, picture clues, context clues, or guessing at wo
rds based on the shape and size of a given word or the first letter in the word. These strategies allow students to compensate for the inability to sound out words for a short period of time. After awhile though, text will become too advanced for these strategies to work all the time.
When "Sound it Out" Doesn't Work
If a student can’t read by sounding out, they typically hit a wall by the end of their third grade year, if not sooner. It’s around this time that reading emphasis shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. Vocabulary explodes and students are no longer able to “solve” words, or guess at words, by using strategies other than sounding out. This is why syllable division rules are necessary to teach. When combined with explicit instruction in phonemic awareness, letter sound correspondences and spelling rules this process makes vowel sounds and other units of sound highly predictable which, in turn, makes unknown words decodable.
Syllable Division Rules are like Math
I like to compare syllable division rules to math. In math you learn a formula, apply the formula and calculate an answer. In reading you can also learn a formula (a.k.a. your syllable division rules), apply your formula on paper and read your word syllable by syllable.
The pictures in this post are a glimpse at syllable division rules during a lesson at READ Learning. I'm so very proud of all of our students. They work extra hard to achieve success in an area that is difficult for them. This is a character-building experience which, after time, leads to increased perseverance, independence and improved confidence! Reading struggles or not - when you have the tools to work through it, It's a win-win any way you look at it.
For a guide on syllable division rules and types of syllables visit our free downloads on our store page.
What Do Researchers Say?
Researchers are in agreeance; spelling instruction matters and poor spelling should not be ignored.
Noah Webster published his first dictionary in 1806. In 1773, Noah Webster was quoted saying, "Spelling is the foundation of reading and the greatest ornament of writing."✍️
Catherine Snow (expert on language and literacy development) summarizes the importance of spelling in one of her scholarly articles as follows: “Spelling and reading build and rely on the same mental representation of a word. Knowing the spelling of a word makes the representation of it sturdy and accessible for fluent reading.”
"Spelling also has a strong relationship with reading comprehension. The correlation between spelling and reading comprehension is high because both depend on a common denominator: proficiency with language." Quote taken from American Educator, "How Words Cast Their Spell"
What are the Benefits to Good Spelling Instruction?
Good Spelling Instruction Has Been Proven To...
Isn't the English Language Super Irregular?
You might be surprised to learn that English Language spelling is highly predictable. If students have knowledge of letter/sound correspondences, word parts, and spelling rules they are on their way to being great spellers! Our language is 84% rule based. Let's break this down. 50% of English words are predictable based on letter sound correspondences that are teachable. Another 34% of English Language words are predictable except for one sound. Improved spelling is realistic because spelling can be learned and understood. Good spelling does not rely on having a strong visual memory. Instead, good spellers develop something called orthographic memory. This type of memory allows us to remember letters in words and it is created from a combination of knowing letter-sound correspondences and word parts (such as prefixes, suffixes, base and root words). Notice visual memory is not in the equation.
Can't I just use Spell Check?
Some view spelling instruction as old fashioned and not necessary. We have computers, right? Did you know that spell check in your word processing programs was created for those who are more or less good spellers already? Spell check is intended to catch typos - the occasional small mistake. It is very common for young children to spell words incorrectly and expect spell check to fix their mistakes. This is what happens, though. If a word is not spelled entirely phonetically, spell check will only be able to identify the correct word option 25% of the time. Other times spell checkers will miss mistakes because of incorrect word choice. Even if spell checkers were improved to the point of being much more accurate, students would still benefit from explicit instruction in spelling rules and strategies.
Written by: Kelly Steinke, Founder READ Learning Ed. Services, LLC
Phonics vs. Phonemic Awareness
Phonics is a big word in education. You could say it’s a “buzz” word. There are many phonics workbooks, programs, and games on the market. In its simplest form, phonics teaches letter/sound correspondences. Phonics helps children learn to read, spell, and write. Phonics is generally taught between Kindergarten and 2nd grade. Phonics is essential to teach, but phonemic awareness is a different skill that is also essential to teach.
It would be a mistake to say phonics and phonemic awareness are the same thing. Phonemic awareness is not the same as phonics. Phonemic awareness does not involve letters, only sounds. It is focused solely on spoken words. Phonemic awareness is an auditory skill and a prerequisite skill for students to become competent spellers, readers, and writers. Phonemic awareness should develop alongside phonics and at a basic level often develops even earlier than phonics.
Phonemic Awareness Doesn't Come Naturally for Everyone
The majority of students will develop phonemic awareness very naturally, without direct instruction. About 15% of individuals will not – they will struggle with these skills. Struggling readers/spellers often have difficulty with phonemic awareness skills and will need to be explicitly taught all 7 phonemic awareness skills. Having these skills, students will realize that words can be broken into syllables, which can be broken into individual sounds.
Hearing Individual Sounds are Important
A phoneme is a unit of sound. For example, the word dog has three phonemes, /d/, /o/, /g/, but the word home also has three phonemes, /h/, /o/, /m/. As you can see, it is not how many letters are in a word but how many sounds or units of sound are in a given word. When teaching phonemic awareness, often times students benefit from using colored tiles or felt so they can assign the sounds to something concrete. It's important, when spelling, that students are able to hear individual sounds. It's also important, as spelling words become longer, that they can identify the syllables within words, There are 7 types of phonemic awareness skills. These skills are important for improved reading fluency as well as improved spelling. The following are the skills and examples of each.
7 Essential Phonemic Awareness Skills
the same sounds?
new word?
with cat.
To learn more about the current research on phonemic awareness I recommend picking up a copy of David Kilpatrick's book, Equipped for Reading Success.
“People are often surprised to learn that it is phonemic awareness and not intelligence that best predicts ease of learning to read.” Sally Shaywitz, Overcoming Dyslexia.
“Phonemic awareness is the core and causal factor that separates normal readers from disabled readers.” Reid Lyon, NICHHD
