Words are made up of different parts called ‘syllables’. Syllables are the different sounds used to make a word.
A E I O U (sometimes Y) are vowels. Every syllable has a vowel; therefore, we can count how many syllables there are in a word by identifying the number of pronounced vowels.

The different syllable sounds in a word can help us to read the word correctly.

➜ The word cat has 1 vowel (a), therefore the word has 1 syllable. 🐱

➜ The word tennis has 2 vowels (e and i), therefore the word 2 syllables. 🎾

➜ The word banana has 3 vowels (a), therefore the word has 3 syllables. 🍌

➜ The word helicopter has 4 vowels (e, i, o & e), therefore the word has 4 syllables. 🚁

➜ The word university has 5 vowels (u, i, e, i & y), therefore the word has 5 syllables. 🏫

There are seven types of syllables:

✔︎ Closed syllable
✔︎ Open syllable
✔︎ Vowel-team syllable
✔︎ Diphthong syllable
✔︎ Vowel-consonant-e syllable
✔︎ Consonant-le syllable
✔︎ R-controlled syllable

𝟭) A closed syllable is a type of syllable in which the vowel in the word is closed in by at least one consonant, so the word ends with a consonant.

The vowel in a closed syllable is usually a short vowel.

E.g. Cat ➜ the letters c and t are consonants, and the letter a is a vowel.

𝟮) An open syllable is a type of syllable in which there are no consonants after the vowel so the word ends with a vowel.

The vowel in an open syllable is usually a long vowel.

E.g. She ➜ the letters s and h are consonants, and the letter e is a vowel.

𝟯) A vowel-team syllable is a type of syllable that contains two vowels that make one vowel sound.

E.g. Boat ➜ the letters o and a are vowels, but we only pronounce the vowel o sound, and the 2nd vowel is silent.
This rule applies to the vowels: ea, ai, oa, ee, ay, and oe.

𝟰) A diphthong syllable is a syllable that contains two vowels that make a combined vowel sound.

E.g. Soil ➜ the letters o and i are vowels and we pronounce both vowels making the ‘oi’ sound.

𝟱) A vowel-consonant-e syllable is a syllable that contains a vowel followed by a consonant then the letter e. This is usually called the magic e because the letter e is silent and it changes the first vowel into a long vowel.

E.g. The word kit is an example of a closed syllable. However, when we add the magic e the vowel i becomes a long vowel (kite).

𝟲) A consonant-le syllable is a syllable that contains a consonant followed by le. The letters ‘le’ make an ‘ul’ sound e.g. Simple.

𝟳) An r-controlled syllable is a syllable that contains a vowel that’s followed by the letter r so the vowel sound is controlled by the letter r, e.g. car.