When learning about syllables, some children may have a difficult time hearing the separations within the words. It may be that syllables are simply a difficult concept or, perhaps, that a child is not an auditory learner. In either case, it may help to be able to “see” the syllables. Try the following activity to help your child visualize the syllables within a word.
On a sunny, hot day, fill a container with water. Cut a kitchen sponge in half or even quarters. Then, find an open space outside with a surface you don’t mind getting wet. This could be a driveway, sidewalk, deck, patio, or even a wooden fence. Have your child place a sponge in the water and wring it out. The sponge is now ready to illustrate the syllables in a word.
Begin with short words that have only one or two syllables. Demonstrate for your child how to dab the sponge onto the surface one time for each syllable in the word. For example, if you were illustrating the word “puppy”, you would have two separate water marks from dabbing the sponge two times.
As your child masters the shorter words, move on to more difficult words comprised of more syllables. Be sure to leave enough space between “words” so that you are able to clearly see which marks you had intended on including for each word. (If you are cramped on space, you can use sidewalk chalk to draw a circle around each word’s markings.) Words will begin evaporating and space can be reused for new words.
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Written by BRWI Staff on May 10, 2010
Most young children love farms or at least the idea of things on a farm. Two- and three-year-old children have been known to repeatedly sing “Old MacDonald’s Farm” until their parents are on the verge of insanity. Needless to say, animal sound games tend to be a favorite among toddlers and preschoolers. Here is one you can do with your child to help reinforce the concept of sy
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Written by BRWI Staff on January 5, 2010
Little kids love to help get meals ready. Whether it is setting the table or preparing the food, their excitement is at a level which we, as adults, wish we could muster for such a mundane task. Why not use this enthusiasm to help teach your child a skill which they can use even when the meal is over?
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Written by BRWI Staff on November 30, 2009
In many elementary classrooms, it is very common to see children clapping out the syllables of words. This is a wonderful way to help children physically experience syllables which can often be difficult for children to master because you can’t really “see” the syllables. Instead, young children must learn to listen carefully, which, for many children, is extremely challenging
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Written by BRWI Staff on October 19, 2009
As children learn to read, they can sometimes become overwhelmed when they are faced with longer words. However, if they are able to break those big words into smaller parts, those giant obstacles can be tackled in tiny parts. This is why teaching very young children about syllables is an important pre-reading skill. Although they will learn several rules involving syllables once they enter ele
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Written by BRWI Staff on September 9, 2009
As children begin to learn to read, they are taught to slowly sound out the words. Usually, students begin by studying one syllable words, such as “cat” and “ball”. However, it isn’t long before they are ready to move on to longer, more challenging words. When they get to this point, children can sound out these longer words by breaking them down into smaller parts
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Written by BRWI Staff on July 17, 2009
Many parents have read about the activity where you help your child learn about syllables by clapping them out when a word is said. This is a wonderful beginning activity to get preschoolers introduced to the concept of syllables. It allows them to hear the syllables, and in the future, when they become readers, this will help them break a word into parts to sound out difficult or unfamiliar wor
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Written by BRWI Staff on June 15, 2009
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