Becoming Better Decoders Through Knowledge of Syllable Types

When teaching our students to read, we want to arm them with as many tools as possible to help them break down words into smaller, more manageable chunks. One such tool is having an understanding of syllable types.

A syllable type is a classification we can assign to a syllable, based on its phonemic characteristics. There are six main syllable types: closed, open, magic (or silent) e, vowel team, r-controlled and consonant +le. Having an understanding of these distinct syllable types can assist our students when it comes to decoding (reading) and encoding (spelling) unfamiliar words.

This set of worksheets has been designed to help students identify the six syllable types in common words. Each worksheet contains five words and five syllable types. Students are required to draw a line to match the word to the correct syllable type. There is a table at the bottom of the worksheet where students must write the word and the syllable type that matches.

Tips for Scaffolding and Extension

This syllables activity has been designed to support your students in developing a deeper understanding of syllable types. Should you need to support or extend students in your class, you may wish to try the following ideas: 

• For students who require support, provide them with a visual reminder of the syllable types to refer to while they are completing the mazes. Our Types of Syllables Posters would be perfect for this purpose!
• For students who require extension, challenge them to create word lists for each of the six syllable types, then share these with the class.

Download the File Format That Best Suits You

Use the dropdown menu next to the Download button to select between the PDF or Google Slides version of this resource.

Because this resource includes an answer sheet, we recommend you print one copy of the entire file. Then, make photocopies of the blank worksheet for students to complete.

To save paper, why not project the activity onto a screen and work through it as a class? Have students take turns coming up to the board to draw a line from a word to its matching syllable type.

This resource was created by Lisamarie Del Valle, a Teach Starter collaborator.