Teaching syllable types: Two syllable words with a VC/CV pattern transcript
Elaine Stanley:
When students begin reading and spelling two-syllable words, that is, once they move from one syllable to two syllable, it's helpful for them to know how to break words up into their component syllables.
This is an example of the easiest one to work with first, so the easiest word type to introduce to show them how they can split words into syllables. What students need to know before learning these two-syllable words and how to break them up is to be able to identify those short and long vowel sounds and also being able to name them and distinguish between them.
Here we can see we've got what we call ‘wombat’ words, and they're two closed syllables in a word, in a two-syllable word, with a vowel consonant/consonant vowel (VC/CV) pattern. We'll demonstrate how we would run this lesson, introducing this to students.
Here's a snip of a whole lesson plan. We've put the link here for this slide set, which includes the complete lesson and accompanying worksheet.
The lesson follows our normal phonics lesson structure. We introduce the concept, then we read some words. ‘I do’, and then ‘We do’, so teacher modelling, and then students join in, read some words, then we spell some words, we introduce our irregular words (which we won't talk about today because that's not our focus, but it's still in the lesson plan). Then we work reading sentences and writing sentences, and we do our usual check for understanding.
If you are not familiar with our lesson structure and you'd like to know more about how we order and organise our lessons, then Topic 2 is the place to look back at that. We've put the link to Topic 2 for you here.
Today, we're going to demonstrate just the bits of the lesson with the stars marked here on the slide.
I would introduce this lesson about splitting these words into two syllables in this way.
Teacher:
Today we are learning how to split two-syllable words into syllables to help us read and spell them. To split a word into syllables, the first thing we look for is the vowel-consonant pattern in a word. If the word has this pattern, vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel, then we know to split the word into syllables between the two consonants, and that will make two syllables for us.
If I look at this word we've got here [wombat], I need to find my pattern first. I find the first vowel, which is the o, and then I can see we've got vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel. I'm going to split my word between the two consonants, and then I make two syllables. I can see that they're two closed syllables because they've got a consonant after the vowel, so the vowel's going to make a short sound. Then I have /w/, /o/, /m/, wom, /b/, /a/, /t/, bat, and I can put them together: ‘wombat’. It helps me to read that word.
Then we would demonstrate doing that together. Kerrie's going to help me.
Teacher:
Kerrie, we're going to look for our pattern first. What's our first vowel?
Student:
u.
Teacher:
Okay. And then we look for our pattern. What pattern have we got?
Student:
Vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel [VC/CV].
Teacher:
Right. There we go. So where do we split our word?
Student:
In between the two consonants.
Teacher:
That's right. And then what's our first syllable?
Student:
/s/, /u/, /d/, sud.
Teacher:
And our second one?
Student:
/d/, /e/, /n/, den.
Teacher:
And then we put them together.
Teacher and student:
Sud-den, ‘sudden’.
Teacher:
Well done.
And then we would do the same for ‘bandit’; we'd look for our pattern, split between the two consonants. We do the same for ‘problem’, for example.
Then we're moving through our lesson structure. Next, students have some words to read, but we don't always put the vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel [VC/CV] pattern up, because they will have to work it out themselves when they read it in a text. Then what they would do is, again, look for the first vowel, look at the pattern, vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel [VC/CV], split between the two consonants and they get ‘mag-net’, ‘magnet’. Do the same for ‘cobweb’ and ‘puppet’.
Teacher:
We are going to write this word together now. Our first word is ‘tennis’. Now I'm going to help you split this word into syllables on our arm first. I'll do it first, then you copy me. Ten-nis. Can you do that with me?
Teacher and student:
Ten-nis.
Teacher:
So our first syllable is ‘ten’. Think about the sounds you can hear, and you can write that syllable. And our second syllable. We have ten-nis. Think about the sounds you can hear and write your syllable. When you're ready, you can chin it. Make sure yours looks like mine. Beautiful.
Then we would check and make sure we've got that vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel [VC/CV] structure. You have to help students at first to hear the two closed syllables. But I'll show you later on how they start to learn to do that themselves.
Then we would do exactly the same thing for two more examples. We've got ‘sunset’ and ‘trumpet’. We would move on to reading at the sentence level. Students would decode the sentence when they get to those two-syllable words, they'd look for their pattern and split the words and work out what they say, one syllable at a time. Then we move to dictating a sentence.
Teacher:
Your sentence is, ‘Zan was upset at the dentist.’ Can you say it with me?
Teacher and student:
‘Zan was upset at the dentist.’
Kerrie's going to write that sentence, and the whole grade would. If there were students who can't manage the whole sentence, I might get them just to do one word with me. We'll split it into syllables and then do one syllable at a time. But I'd be checking how students are going as they're doing that.
Then I would say,
Teacher:
Now if you're ready, you can circle any ‘wombat’ words in that sentence.
We would chin it when they’re ready. Then we would talk about checking to make sure we've got that vowel-consonant/consonant-vowel [VC/CV] structure and we've spelled those words correctly and we've got our two syllables represented.
Once you've done that in your lesson, then you move on to your check for understanding to really make sure that students have understood and can apply the concept. This is the worksheet that you can either use as your check for understanding or you might like to use it for further independent practice as well.
We always do that to check students have understood.
When you've taught a particular concept, then you would include slides in your daily review sessions. You would have words for them to read and look for the pattern and split the syllables. The same thing for them to write and split the syllables. And then again at the sentence level for reading and writing as well.
If you would like more information about our daily review slide sets, and you haven't seen those before, here is the link to our sample slide set, which you can adapt as you would like to.