Reading long words by their syllable chunks

English · Phonics & Word Reading · ages 6-9

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Every syllable must have a vowel sound in it.
Circle one: True False
Blend these syllable chunks together. What word do they make?
- elephent
- elephant
- elphant
Clap the word 'potato'. How many syllable chunks does it have?
- 2
- 3
- 4
Blend these syllable chunks together. What word do they make?
- rabbit
- rabbot
- robbit
Which is the right way to split 'volcano' into syllable chunks?
- volc-ano
- v-ol-ca-no
- vol-ca-no
Blend these syllable chunks together. What word do they make?
- fantastic
- fantestic
- fantastick
Clap the word 'alligator'. How many syllable chunks does it have?
- 3
- 4
- 5
Which is the right way to split 'computer' into syllable chunks?
- compu-ter
- c-ompu-ter
- com-pu-ter
Blend these syllable chunks together. What word do they make?
- helicoptor
- helicoptr
- helicopter
Pia is reading a book about the zoo. She sees the long word 'alligator' for the first time. What should she do first?
- Split it into chunks: al-li-ga-tor
- Guess it from the first letter and move on
- Close the book and stop reading

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

True · That is the rule. No syllable chunk can exist without a vowel sound.
elephant · Blend el, e, and phant together: elephant.
3 · Po-ta-to: three claps, three syllable chunks.
rabbit · Blend rab and bit together: rabbit.
vol-ca-no · Volcano has three beats: vol-ca-no. Each chunk has a vowel sound.
fantastic · Blend fan, tas, and tic together: fantastic.
4 · Al-li-ga-tor: four claps, four syllable chunks.
com-pu-ter · Computer has three beats: com-pu-ter. Each chunk has a vowel sound.
helicopter · Blend hel, i, cop, and ter together: helicopter.
Split it into chunks: al-li-ga-tor · Splitting a long word into syllable chunks is the best first step. Then Pia can read each chunk and blend them together.