Research shows that understanding the six syllable types boosts student performance in reading and spelling. In this new post series, you’ll explore each of these syllable types. We’ll begin with closed syllables, the most common syllable type in English! In today’s blog, you’ll learn an overview of closed syllables, plus more detailed information about closed syllable exceptions and the cat/kite rule, which is a spelling rule that can be taught while your students are learning about closed syllables.
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What’s a syllable?
Before we dive into closed syllables, let’s review some basics. A syllable is defined as “a part of a word that contains a single vowel sound and that is pronounced as a unit” (Collins, 2024). The word read has one syllable. The word lit•er•a•cy has four syllables.
What are the 6 syllable types?
There are six syllable types in English: closed, open, silent e, vowel team, r-controlled, and final stable syllables. Words are made up of one or more of these syllables. As you learn about each syllable type, you’ll notice that the names of the syllable types generally describe the vowel within the syllable. For example, in a closed syllable, the vowel is closed in by one or more consonants.
- Rep•tile is one closed syllable and one silent e syllable.
- Yo•gurt is one open syllable and one r-controlled syllable.
- Fan•tas•tic is three closed syllables.
- Meal•time is one vowel team syllable and one silent e syllable.
- Bub•ble is one closed syllable and one consonant le (final stable) syllable.
Future blog posts will each focus on one of the six syllable types.
Fun fact: Noah Webster, of Webster’s Dictionary, established the syllable types in 1806 to justify how he divided the syllables in words in the dictionary (Reading Rockets).
Why should teachers and students learn about syllable types?
Each syllable type has spelling conventions that help students read and spell words, including multisyllabic words that include more than one type of syllable. Reading Rockets explains that “Familiarity with syllable patterns helps students to read longer words accurately and fluently and to solve spelling problems.”
Additionally, Blachman, et al (1999) report that “First graders directly taught the six syllable types outperformed their peers who received implicit phonics instruction on measures of reading and spelling.”
Not convinced yet? Reed (2012) asserts that “learning the six syllable types also enables students to encode sounds, such as r-controlled vowels and consonant-le, that take more than individual letters to produce.”
Here’s an example. If a student is trying to spell the word buff but they have not seen it in print before, they may be able to call upon their knowledge of bonus letters, which is a spelling rule that can be taught when students are learning about closed syllables. If a word has one syllable and one short vowel that is immediately followed by the /f/, /l/, or /s/ sound, the final consonant will be doubled. Other words with bonus letters, like fill, off, and less are quite easy to read, but may be more challenging for early writers to spell without knowledge of closed syllable spelling rules.
What is the most common syllable type?
We are starting this blog series with the closed syllable because it’s English’s most common syllable type. According to Reading Rockets, just under 50% of English syllables are closed.
Did this pie chart surprise you, too? When I first saw it, it made sense to me why the Wilson Reading System spends so much time building students’ foundations in fluently reading closed syllable words.
What is a closed syllable?
A closed syllable has one vowel that is “closed in” by one or more consonants. The vowel represents the short sound because it is closed in. The words bat, wish, and switch are closed syllables. The word fan•tas•tic is made up of three closed syllables.
What else is there to know about closed syllables?
There are many foundational skills that can be taught within the study of closed syllables. I’ll explain a couple of these in more depth below.
- single short vowel sounds
- single consonants
- consonant digraphs
- CVC words
- c/k/ck spelling rule
- consonant blends
- nasalized -am & -an
- -ng & -nk patterns
- bonus letters
- closed syllable exceptions
- decoding multisyllabic words with closed syllables
Want to make sure you don’t miss the next syllable type blog post?
Are you curious about closed syllable exceptions?
Closed syllable exception words, such as wild, kind, gold, bolt, and most are considered exceptions to the closed syllable rule. The vowel sounds in –ild, –ind, –old, –olt, and –ost will usually be long even though we expect these syllables to have short vowel sounds.
According to Uncovering the Logic of English by Denise Eide (2012), “i and o may say ī and ō when followed by two consonants.” Eide is careful to point out that these vowels may represent the long sound when followed by two consonants but they will not always represent the long sound when followed by two consonants. Think of the word cost, which uses the short o sound, and post, which uses the long o sound.
Do your students need extra practice to read closed syllable exceptions in connected text fluently?
The unexpected vowel sounds in these words can make closed syllable expectations a tricky skill to master!
You won’t regret investing in this bundle of resources, which includes 22 student pages to practice reading and spelling words with closed syllable exceptions at the word, sentence, and passage levels. The decodable passages with accompanying worksheets and comprehension quizzes have been a consistent top seller since 2022. If you’re using Wilson, Fundations, Just Words, or a similarly structured phonics program, most of the materials in this unit will be decodable for your students.
A quick overview of the cat/kite rule
Your unit on basic closed syllable words (CVC words) is the perfect time to teach the cat/kite spelling rule. If a writer is unsure which letter to use to represent the /k/ sound at the beginning of a word or syllable, follow this general rule:
This memorable rhyme covers the basics, but there’s more to know!
- We also use c to represent the /k/ sound if the next letter is a consonant, such as in the consonant blends cl-, cr– and –ct.
- We also use k to represent the /k/ sound when the next letter is y. We most often see this in words with -y endings, such as funky and sneaky, as well as in the word sky and in names such as Kyle or Kylie.
- The rhyme can also help us choose between the consonant blends sc– and sk– in words like skill and scrap. Simply look at the letter after the /k/ sound to decide.
Want to learn more, and help your students learn the concept as well? Grab your cat/kite poster freebie!
That’s a wrap on closed syllables!
Research shows that students who learn the six syllable types excel in reading and spelling. Introduce these concepts to your first and second graders and see the difference! I hope this post inspires you to confidently bring this powerful tool into your classroom.
