How to Teach Syllables to Preschool and Kindergarten Children

Syllable awareness is one of the first phonological awareness skills, which means it is about the sounds of speech and not about letters. It comes before rhyming and before sounding out words, and it is a gentle first step to reading. Children can learn it long before they can read, just by clapping and talking.

What is a syllable?

A syllable is a single beat in a word, like one “pulse” of sound. Every syllable has one vowel sound, and that is why you can count them. The word dog has one beat. The word rab-bit has two. The word but-ter-fly has three.

Three easy ways to count syllables

• Clap. Say the word slowly and clap once for each beat. Clapping works well because children can both hear and feel the rhythm.
• Chin drop. Put a hand under your chin and say the word. Your chin drops once for each syllable, because the mouth opens for each vowel sound. This is a good check for words that are hard to clap.
• Stomp, tap or jump. Use a drum, a spoon on the table, or jump once for each beat.

A four-step plan

1. Start with names. Children love their own name. Sam has 1 beat, Ruby has 2, Jessica has 3 and Alexander has 4. Clap the names of everyone in the family, and see who has the most.
2. Move to one- and two-syllable words. Use pictures or objects: cat, dog, apple, tiger. Say the word, clap it, and count the claps aloud.
3. Add three and four syllables. Banana, elephant, watermelon, caterpillar. This is a fun stage, because long words feel like a challenge.
4. Connect to reading and writing. Once children can count syllables, show them how a long word can be read in chunks: sun-flow-er. Later they can write the number of syllables under each picture.

Word lists by number of syllables

Tricky words and common mix-ups

• Silent e. Cake and home each have one syllable, because the final e is silent.
• Words ending in -ed. Jumped has one syllable, but wanted has two. Say the word to tell.
• Accents. Some words, like family, every or chocolate, are said with different numbers of syllables in different places. Go with the way your child says the word, and avoid arguing about it.
• Clapping letters instead of sounds. A common mistake is to clap for each letter. Clap for the beats you hear, not the letters you see.

Syllable games and activities

• Syllable sort. Make three hula hoops or paper circles labeled 1, 2 and 3. Sort picture cards or small toys into the right circle.
• Stomp and spell. Chalk a hopscotch path. Say a word and hop once for each syllable.
• Robot talk. Talk like a robot, with a pause between syllables: “pen-cil.” Children guess the word.
• Mystery bag. Pull an object from a bag, name it and clap its syllables.
• Syllable bingo. Call out words. Children cover a number from 1 to 4 on their card.
• Print and clap. Our syllable counting worksheets show pictures to clap and count, with 1 to 4 syllables, and an answer key.

Why syllables matter for reading

Hearing the parts of a word helps children break long words into chunks that are easier to read and spell. Syllable awareness also supports the next skills in line: matching first sounds with the beginning sounds worksheets, blending three-letter words from our CVC words list and putting letters in order with alphabetical order worksheets. You can find more activities for this age on our kindergarten worksheets page.

Names are a great starting point for writing too. See how to teach a child to write their name, and count the syllables as you go.

Free printables to go with this guide

Put this guide into practice with our free generators: syllable counting worksheets, beginning sounds worksheets, CVC words worksheets, alphabetical order worksheets.

Free workbooks to go with this guide

• Fruits and Vegetables Tracing and Coloring Book – Color 26 fruits and vegetables, trace each word and write it alone, then review with matching games.
• Animals Tracing and Coloring Book – Color 28 animals from the farm, the garden and the wild, trace each name and write it alone.

Keep reading

• CVC Words List: Short A, E, I, O and U – A CVC words list sorted by short vowel (a, e, i, o, u) with sentences to read, a teaching order and easy games for kindergarten and first grade.
• How to Teach a Child to Write Their Name – Learn how to teach a child to write their name with simple steps, fun activities and free printable name tracing practice for preschool and kindergarten.