Syllables Activities to Boost Phonological Awareness
These fun activities and games for counting syllables are great for boosting phonological awareness. They teach kids how to count syllables, say them clearly, mix them together (blend), and break them apart (segment). They’re ideal for little learners in Preschool, PreK, and Kindergarten.
Teaching kids to count the number of syllables in words is an important step in their language development and reading skills. Here are a few strategies that I like using:
Chin Drops: Instruct the children to place their hand under their chin. Every time their chin drops while saying a word, that’s a syllable. This physical movement helps them feel the syllable.
Body Taps (or beats): Show the children how to tap a body part for each syllable they here in a word. For example, for the word “dinosaur”, they would tap their head, shoulders and hips. You can see this video on YouTube here to see an example of this type of strategy.
Clapping Method: Teach children to clap for each syllable they hear in a word. For example, for the word “elephant,” they would clap three times – el-e-phant.
Robot Talk: Encourage kids to speak like a robot, articulating each syllable in a robotic and distinct manner. This makes it fun and emphasizes the breaks between syllables.
Counting Syllables Activities
Now, for the fun part – teaching kids about syllables! To make your life easier I’ve put together a comprehensive pack of resources that includes teaching strategy posters, 96 syllables picture cards and nine fun syllables games! You can check out some of the activities that are included below.
Syllables Pocket Chart
<< Find these syllables cards here >>
Drumming Syllables
<< Get these syllables sorting activities here >>
Clapping Syllables
<< Grab these phonological awareness activities here >>
Bear Sorting Mats
<< Learn more about these sorting activities here >>
Robot Sorting Mats
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Other Fun Syllables Games
<< Find these syllables games here >>
I hope you find these activities helpful! You can grab all of these resources below.
More Phonological Awareness Activities
If you’re beginning to teach kids about syllables, it’s a good idea to start with compound words. Learning to put together and take apart compound words is a key step before moving on to longer, multisyllabic words like “watermelon.” Learn more about compound words here.
<< Find these compound words games here >>
<< Get these compound words clip cards here >>