Why Syllables are NOT a Mystery to Silent Elephant “e”™ Readers
Is the skill of dividing words into syllables a mystery to you? Do you really understand why dividing words into syllables is important?
This is for sure, it’s not mysterious to children learning to read with Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “e”™.
When they reach Part 13, Level 1, they are typically at an instructional 6th grade reading level and have mastered the phonics rules for one syllable words.
They’re ready to dive into Parts 13 and 14. There they will learn how to divide multisyllabic words into syllables and learn why understanding how to divide words into syllables is important to their reading success.
In Parts 13 and 14 children become totally immersed in their learning of the 8 syllable rules because they are taught them using fun, whole body, multi-sensory activities that engage all their senses and multiple parts of their brain.
As they progress through Parts 13 and 14, they begin each day’s lesson by sharing all the syllable rules they’ve learned up to that point. At the end of Part 14, they easily and successfully share all 8 rules, how they use them and why.
Their knowledge of all 8 rules is tucked firmly “under their belt” ready to “move into action” whenever they need them. They are confident and clear about all syllable rules and easily begin to decode any new multisyllabic word they come upon.
At the end of Part 14, Level 1, children will be able to read any genre they’d like to read and apply their skills for dividing words into syllables to decode unknown words. Their reading vocabulary will continue to grow and grow, as will their reading ability level!
For you and your young learners, here’s the list of the 8 rules with clues that Silent Elephant “e”™ uses to support their fast progress in learning the rules and using them successful in their reading.
Rule 1: Every syllable has one vowel sound.
Clue: Rule #1 begins with “Every".
Rule 2: Compound words
Clue: “Into” is one of the easiest compound words at Kindergarten and first grade level.
Rule 3: Twins in the middle
Clue: Think of yellow.
Rule 4: Prefix/Root word
Clue: Think of green first and then brown.
Rule 5: Root word/Suffix
Clue: Think of brown first and then green.
Rule 6: VCCV & VCCCV
Clue: Use your fingers. (First, they’ll put up 4 fingers and then wiggle one at a time to show VCCV & then they’ll use all 5 fingers to show VCCCV.)
Rule 7: VCV
Clue: The hardest syllable rule!
Rule 8: VV
Clue: A bit tricky in the beginning, because your brain will always want to think of “two vowels go walking” first.
To further support you helping your young learners, here are some clues for accenting syllables:
The first syllable of a root/base word is accented most of the time in English. ie: mon’e tar y, vig’il ance, hon’or ar y
Prefixes and suffixes are never accented. ie: bond’age, re turn’, green’er, im plant’
An ending syllable in a multi-syllable word ending with a “y”, “ie”, “ey” making a long “e” sound is never accented. ie.: dad’dy, cook’ie, kid’ney
When there are twin/double consonants in the middle of a word, the unaccented syllable has the silent twin. ie.: funny = fun’ y, account = a count’
When the twins in the middle are “c” or “g”, the syllable with the “c” or “g” making the hard sound will be the accented syllable. ie.: ac’ cent, sug’ gest, ac’ cept
Because Silent Elephant “e” learners review and share their knowledge of the rules at the beginning of each lesson and because of the multi-sensory activities that helped them learn the rules, they’ll have ALL the rules completely mastered at the end of Part 14.
From that point on they are free to pick up any book and feel successful. They have their knowledge of decoding multisyllabic words to help them decode any words they come across
When your young learner has completed Silent Elephant “e”™ Level 1, Parts 13 and 14, they will be at least at an instructional 7th grade reading level. This means they will be able to successfully read anything at a 6th grade reading level.
Typically, if children don’t have dyslexia or other learning differences, getting to this 6th grade level takes less than two years. If they have learning differences, it may take longer, maybe two years or more, but my experience has been with Silent Elephant “e”™, learning differences or not, they always get there.
They always become successful readers who love to read.
This is the important point, they always get there!
Every single student I’ve tutored has become a successful confident happy reader AND they’ve had fun along the way. They love reading and are eager and ready to read. Most of my students began Silent Elephant “e” way below grade level and were considered to always be a non-reader. With Silent Elephant “E”™ They ALL got there!
That, after all, is our vision!
Every child deserves to learn to read AND have fun doing it.
In this video I share a thorough overview of Phonetic Reading with Silent Elephant “E”™.
If your child is dyslexic or has other learning differences, check out these blog posts.
Of course, contact me at silentelephante@gmail.com and visit our website at silentelephante.com and our blog. Both have TONS of info for you on teaching reading, writing and spelling.