{"id":31150,"date":"2021-01-25T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2021-01-25T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/?p=31150"},"modified":"2022-06-03T11:51:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T16:51:06","slug":"open-and-closed-syllables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.allaboutlearningpress.com\/open-and-closed-syllables\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Teach Open and Closed Syllables"},"content":{"rendered":"

Closed and open syllables are the first two syllable types students should learn. Out of the six syllable types<\/a>, these two are the easiest for students to master.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

What Is a Closed Syllable?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

In its simplest form, a closed syllable is a vowel followed by a consonant. Examples include cap<\/span><\/em>, sit<\/span><\/em>, and up<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \"closed\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s called a closed syllable because the vowel is \u201cclosed in\u201d by a consonant. In closed syllables, the vowel usually says its short sound.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

More than one consonant can be used to close in a syllable, as in dish<\/span><\/em> and stretch<\/span><\/em>. And many multisyllable words contain closed syllables, as in insect<\/span><\/em>, rabbit<\/span><\/em>, and napkin<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

What Is an Open Syllable?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

An open syllable has a vowel at the end of the syllable. Nothing comes after the vowel, as in no<\/span><\/em>, my<\/span><\/em>, and we<\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n \"open\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s called an open syllable because the vowel is \u201copen\u201d\u2014that is, nothing comes after it except open space. In open syllables, the vowel says its long sound.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

There aren\u2019t many one-syllable words that contain open syllables, but there are many multisyllable words that do. For example, look at the first syllables in these words:
\r\nba<\/strong> by
\r\ne<\/strong> ven
\r\npa<\/strong> per
\r\nmu<\/strong> sic<\/span><\/p>\r\n\r\n

Why Is Knowing the Syllable Types So Beneficial?<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

Knowledge of syllable types is an important decoding tool for both reading and spelling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Let's say a student is reading a story and she comes across the word craft<\/span><\/em>. She doesn\u2019t instantly recognize the word because she has never read it before. Although the word is unfamiliar, she isn\u2019t flustered because she has a method for determining whether the letter A says its long or short sound. She sees that the A is followed by a consonant, which means that it is in a closed syllable, so the vowel most likely says its short sound. She is able to decode the word craft<\/span><\/em> independently and continues reading the story.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Syllable type knowledge helps with spelling, too. In the scenario below, the child wants to spell the word kitten<\/span><\/em>. But she hasn\u2019t reached the stage of automaticity<\/a> yet, so she can\u2019t remember whether there is one T or two in the middle of the word.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"girl\r\n\r\n

A child who doesn't have a visual picture of the word and doesn't know about syllable types might just write the word as kiten<\/span><\/em>. After all, we pronounce it \u201cki(t) ten,\u201d without enunciating the first T.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

But our student can draw upon her knowledge of open and closed syllable types and easily come up with the correct spelling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"girl\r\n\r\n

Our student realizes that if she leaves the first vowel open, it will say its long sound, resulting in \/k\u012b-t\u011bn\/. (There are some exceptions such as city<\/span><\/em> where the vowel is left open yet still says its short sound, but these words are the exception rather than the rule. And in the All About Spelling<\/cite><\/a> program, we give kids tools to help them spell these exceptions.)<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Teaching Open and Closed Syllables<\/h2>\r\n\r\n

In the All About Reading<\/cite> and All About Spelling<\/cite> programs, we use the letter tiles app<\/a> (or the physical letter tiles<\/a>) to demonstrate the differences between open and closed syllables (and all syllable types!). Syllable tags are placed above words, making this a concrete activity. An open door represents an open syllable, and a closed door represents a closed syllable.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"open\r\n\r\n

In the All About Reading<\/cite><\/a> program, fun characters known as Party Monsters pitch in to give kids even more practice with open and closed syllables. Give it a try with this free download<\/a>!<\/p>\r\n\r\n\"open<\/a>\r\n\r\n

Knowing just these two types of syllables will enable your student to accurately spell hundreds of words!<\/p>\r\n\r\n

For even more great samples, feel free to visit our Reading and Spelling Lesson Samples page<\/a>. You\u2019ll find hundreds of pages of downloadable PDFs that are packed<\/span> with information.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

Do you have questions about open and closed syllable types? Ask in the comments below or get in touch<\/a>! We\u2019re here to help.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Teaching open and closed syllables is a breeze with this handy teaching guide! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31189,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Teach Open and Closed Syllables (+ FREE Practice Activity)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Looking for an overview for teaching open and closed syllables? Check out this post! 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