Last week we talked about the secret vowel sound: schwa. The schwa is the sneaky vowel sound in many words (i.e. bacon, sofa, etc.), including all words with consonant + le syllables. All words with consonant + le syllables are multisyllabic. This means students need tools to determine the vowel sounds in the preceding syllables. Read this week’s Teacher Tip Tuesday to learn how to help your students take this next step towards mastering syllables!
Reviewing open and closed syllables
Consonant + Le at the end of a word is always a syllable, but it doesn’t stand alone. When you remove the consonant + le syllable, you make a closed or open syllable. Students need to know which syllable type precedes the consonant + le syllable to know how to say and spell the full word. Check out the example below.
Not only does this help students spell syllables and words, but it also helps them determine how an unfamiliar word sounds when they come across it in their reading. They become stronger, more resilient readers when they combine:
1. Their understanding of open and closed syllables
2. Their knowledge of the way those syllables are spelled
3. Their understanding of the schwa sound in consonant + le syllables
4. Their can-do, never give up attitude towards tackling new words!
Put it into practice with F2B resources
Click here for a free Consonant + Le activity sheet. Students will practice spelling words with the consonant + le syllable and determining whether the other syllable in the word has a long or short vowel sound.
Footsteps2Brilliance users can play and assign Consonant + Le games by searching “Consonant + Le” in the assignment library.
Click here for a Consonant + Le listening game.
Click here for a Consonant + Le splitting game.
Footsteps2Brilliance users can also find the Consonant + Le activity sheet and more in their teacher toolkit under Activity Sheets.
Looking for more Teacher Tip Tuesday content? Click here for the Effective Strategies for Teaching English Learners series, complete collection.
Not signed up? To learn how to provide your class with access to the Footsteps2Brilliance bilingual literacy program, click here, or sign up to speak to a Footsteps2Brilliance expert here.
