Unlocking the Secret to Reading:

The Keys to the

Six Basic Syllable Spelling Patterns

Opening the Door to Reading!

• The English

alphabet has 26 letters.

• All English words use some

of these 26 letters.

In the alphabet:

- 21 letters are consonants that have only one sound

b,c,d,f,g,h,j,k,l,m,n,p,q,r,s,t,v,w,x,y,z

In the alphabet, 5 letters are special:

- 5 letters are vowels that have two sounds (long and short)

a e i o u

The key to reading and spelling all words:

•All words have at least one vowel.

happy the key book

remember tip a school

• All words have syllables.

• Syllables are word parts.

• Reading is easy if you can break words up into small parts (syllables).

re – mem – ber

remember

All you need to know are the six syllable

rules!

Use the Keys to Unlock and

Read New Words!

The Six Basic Syllable Types:

1. Closed Syllables

2. Open Syllables

3. Vowel-Silent e Syllables

4. Vowel Team Syllables

5. r-Controlled Syllables

6. Consonant + le Syllables

Closed Syllables

• A closed syllable has one vowel in the

syllable and ends with a consonant.

• The vowel sound is usually a short

sound.

bed mat happy

(Your lips are mostly closed when you say the final consonant sound.)

Open Syllables

• An open syllable ends with a

vowel sound.

• The vowel sound is usually

a long sound.

ti- ger hu-man ba-con do-nut(Your mouth is open when you say the long vowel sound.)

Vowel-Silent e (Vce) Syllable

•Each syllable has only one vowel sound.

• When a syllable has two vowels, the first vowel usually makes a long sound, and the second vowel

is silent.

bake bike pile cube rope

Vowel Team Syllables• Two vowels are side-by-side.

• The first vowel says its name.

• The second vowel is silent.

• Sometimes the two vowels

make a whole new sound.

team mail play shoute a

r-Controlled Syllables•When a vowel is followed by the letter r, the sound of the two letters changes.

park store

her girl

hurt remember

Bossy rSilent vowel

Consonant + le Syllables

• A consonant + le, al, or el

is usually the last syllable in

a word.

ta-ble den-tal ren-tal pic-kle nic-kel lit-tle

s c r a m - ble

Congratulations!

You now know the six major syllable types of the English

language.

Happy Reading!!!!