Over the last several weeks, #phonologicalfriday has been focusing on syllables. This is the final post in a 7 part series on syllable types written by Massey University’s Dr. Tom Nicholson. He has previously written on closed syllables, open syllables, vowel-consonant-e syllables, the r- affected vowel pattern, and vowel teams. This week he has created a sample lesson plan for teaching the ‘le’ pattern syllable.

The ‘le’ pattern is found in the final syllable position of a base word and it usually will start with a consonant. This syllable is sometimes referred to as a syllabic consonant because you do not hear a vowel sound when you pronounce the syllable.

Teaching points:

The LE syllable has its own unique sound “ehl”.
The LE syllable takes with it the consonant before it, e.g., bee/tle

Opening of the lesson

Teacher: Today we are looking at how to break long words that have the LE pattern. The LE pattern is at the end of a word that has more than one syllable. It has a vowel sound like /ihl/ as in BEETLE.

Middle of the lesson

Teacher: When we break off the LE syllable from a word, it takes with it the consonant before it. For example, when we hear BUBBLE, we hear two syllables BUB-BLE.

Teacher: Let us have a look at this word here. See if you can divide the word into syllables. What do you think it says?

Student: “tablee”?

Teacher: Yes, it could sound like that but in LE words, the LE has a different vowel sound. It has the /ihl/ sound. We do pronounce the vowel in LE but it has its own sound. I will write TABLE on the whiteboard.

Teacher: Now you need to break it into syllables. What do you need to do first?

Student: Tick all the vowels.

Teacher: Yes, two vowel sounds = two syllables

	√			√
T	A	B	L	E

Teacher: Then, what shall you do next? Remember that the LE syllable usually goes with the consonant just before it.

Student: um…..draw a line in the middle….??

Teacher: Where in the middle? between which two letters?

Student: a and b

Teacher: Nice job!

	√			√
T	A	B	L	E

Teacher: Can you say the first part?

Student: /tay/”

Teacher: The second syllable?

Student: /bihl/

Teacher: Can you put them together and say it like a word?

Student: TABLE

Teacher: Very good

Teacher: Let us try breaking some more LE words for practice. I will write them down and we will work out the syllables together by ticking the vowels and then drawing a line between each syllable.

beetle	eagle	cable	trifle	stable
cattle	juggle	angle	snuggle	tangle
mingle	possible	jungle	fiddle	scramble

Write these sentences for the student. Ask the student to break the underlined words into syllables, say the syllables together to make a word, and then read the sentence.

It is good to be idle for a short time but not a long time
They lived in their own private circle of friends
Only a very few feeble stragglers said yes to the question
From the cradle to the grave
To think of these vagabonds attracting the young rabble
He worked on the principle that two and two are four and nothing over
She was an admirable person for achieving so much in such hard times
It is incredible and incomprehensible to me that they could do that

Close of the lesson

Teacher: Let us check what we learned today. What is the LE syllable type?

Student: It is the LE pattern at the end of a word. It has a vowel sound and it usually includes the consonant before it, like the GLE in JUNGLE.

Teacher: Good job!

Dr. Tom Nicholson is a freelance writer, formerly a professor of education at Massey University in New Zealand and a member of the Reading Hall of Fame. One day, in the future, he plans to have his own website, write a children’s book on phonics and how it can help you to read, and learn how to sketch with proper perspective.

You can contact Dr. Nicholson at: t.nicholson@massey.ac.nz

Reference:

Henry, M. (2010). Unlocking Literacy: Effective decoding & spelling instruction (2^nded.). Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brooks Publishing Co.

Stanback, M. L. (1992). Syllable and rune otters for teaching reading: Analysis of a frequency-based vocabulary of 17,602 words. Annals of Dyslexia, 42, 196-221.

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