Looking for fun syllable activities? You’ve hit the jackpot!
(This post contains affiliate links.)
Hamburger. Ham-bur-ger.
Macaroni. Mac-a-ro-ni.
Motorcycle. Mo-tor-cy-cle.
Did you know that the ability to break words into syllables is an important part of phonological awareness? Phonological awareness. That’s a big teacher-y word, but it’s easy to define.
Phonological awareness = the awareness of sounds within words
Kids need phonological awareness before they learn to read. That’s why I’m sharing six fun ways to teach kids how to count syllables as part of our Get Ready for Kindergarten series. And here’s some great news – counting syllables is fun!
1. Jump.
First, I used painter’s tape to make a numbered ladder on the floor. My Four stood behind the first line. Then I held up a picture card (get them at the end of this post), and he jumped once for each syllable.
“Ham-bur-ger.” He looked down to see what number he was standing on. That’s how many syllables the word had.
He loved this and breezed through 24 cards in no time!
2. Sort pictures.
Next, I put the 1,2,3 and 4 syllable headers on our pocket chart. My Two handed her older brother one card at at time. He named the picture, breaking it into syllables as he did so. Finally, he filed the picture under the proper header.
I showed him how to clap the syllables, but he only needed to do that once. By saying each word slowly, he easily counted the syllables. “Cal-cu-la-tor. Four!”
3. Sort objects.
My Seven and Nine gathered toys for me that were one, two, three, or four syllables. Then I provided some sorting containers for my preschooler to sort them.
4. Manipulate.
Print these free cards from This Reading Mama. Then give your child small counters to move, one at a time, as he says each syllable. Have him count the manipulatives to see how many syllables are in each word.
5. Build.
Check out This Reading Mama’s post about counting syllables with duplo bricks – you’ll also get a set of free picture cards.
6. Clip it!
Just grab our free syllable clip cards, and have your child clip the correct number of syllables with a clothespin.
And there you have it – six hands-on ways to teach syllables!
Get the free sorting cards below. You’ll find a total of 48 cards, in three different formats – depending on how much ink you want to use. 😉 Make sure you select the pages you want instead of printing the whole document.
Check out the rest of our series!
© 2016 – 2020, Anna G. All rights reserved.
Michelle Swanson says
Thank you, Anna! LOVE the syllable cards–the one with clapping hands. So useful in my K/1 Classroom!
Anna Geiger says
Yay – so glad you can use them, Michelle!
caty says
Supper ideas! You;re an angel! Thank you so much!
Anna Geiger says
Thank you, Caty!
afnan says
thank you sooooo much
Anna Geiger says
You’re very welcome!
Marianthi Arvanitidou says
Hello, I am Marianthi ,a primary school teacher from Greece, Your idea with cards is excellent. I loved it. Fortunately , greek language has words with many syllabels and your idea hels students to learn easier.I wanted to use them , but I cant print them. Anyway you are very clever and excellent teacher. My best wishes let follow you!
Anna Geiger says
Hi Marianthi! Underneath the post is a link that says “is the file not downloading? or is it not printing correctly?” If you click there you’ll probably find the solution to your printing problem.
Kali says
Where can I get syllable pocket chart sort?
Anna Geiger says
There’s a green box that says “To get your free printable click HERE.”
Eli says
THANK YOU! I am new to teaching kindergarten and your resources are spectacular! Thank you for all the hard work you’ve put into them…. and for making them free 😉
Anna Geiger says
You’re so welcome, Eli! I hope they make your transition to a new teaching position go a little more smoothly. 🙂
Carol says
I just joined, and I love it! Thank you so much for sharing.
Anna Geiger says
Welcome, Carol – so glad to have you with us!
Pine says
Thank you soo much Ms Anna Geiger for the printable documents you upload.. you are doing a great job by helping the students soon to be novice teachers.
Rhonda says
I am blown away with everything you have here! Thank you for sharing and all the time you put into everything!
Anna Geiger says
You’re very welcome, Rhonda, and thank you for your kind comment!
Ann V. says
I love these cards, thank you! If you are teaching on a carpet, you can use chalk to make the jumping lines instead of painter’s tape. I use it all the time! Another chalk activity is to make letter boxes and sort objects by their first, last or middle sound.
Anna Geiger says
I’ve never tried chalk on carpet, Ann – thanks so much for the idea!
SALEH MUHAMMAD says
YOUR WORK AND CREATION’S ARE VERY HELPFUL FOR MY SCHOOL TEACHER AND STUDENTS.
MY SCHOOL IS LOCATED IN VERY BACKWARD AREA OF PAKISTAN (QUETTA NAWA KILLI BALOCHISTAN) .WE ARE ALL VERY THANKFUL TO YOU WITH THE CORE OF OUR HEARTS AND WE ALL PRAY FOR THAT GOD GIVE ALL WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIVE . THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.
YOUR BEST WISHER’S
ALL STAF AND STUDENTS OF IQRA ISLAMI PRIMARY SCHOOL NAWA KILLI BALOCHISTAN , PAKISTAN.
Anna Geiger says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Saleh! I’m so glad my materials are useful for your students!
Karen says
These activities are enriching.I like the activites done how to reinforce or count the syllables.
Anna G says
I’m so glad you like them, Karen!
Ahmad says
Thank you for the hard effort you’re putting into making teaching a little easier. I really enjoy reading your ideas. I hope you keep enriching our teaching .
Anna G says
Thank you so much for the encouragement, Ahmad! I hope to be doing this for many years!
leslie says
your site is wonderful. thank you so much!
Anna G says
I’m so glad you found me, Leslie!
youn says
thank you so much ^^
Anna G says
You’re welcome, Youn!
Anjali says
Thank you so much !For your wonderful effort.
Anna G says
You’re very welcome, Anjali!
Emily says
Hello! I would love the cards that first appear on the page- the ones that are in the pocket chart with the clapping hands and numbered heading 1-4, then the picture cards with words. I have scoured the page for the link to the them, but have only found links to the other card sets.
Thank you!
Emily
Anna G says
Click the big green button that says “to get your free printable, click HERE.” It’s toward the end of the post.
Lori says
I would love these too! They are very well done! It would take me forever to put a set like that together! The green box (free printable) takes you to the clip a syllable cards).
Thank you!!
Anna G says
I just checked, and the link does go to the pictures of the clapping hands and picture cards. 🙂
Emma Hernandez says
Thank you these activity cards are awesome, my students love them and have become super supers, than you again, Emma
Robyn says
Absolutely love your original ideas for teaching syllables! Cant wait to try the hopscotch this week. Thank you!
Susan says
I am so grateful that you continue to offer such quality resources for free!
Stella Ioannou says
Hi! Thank you soooo much ! These are great. Well done you!!
I would like to ask you, if you think that these would be any good for older children, year 3, or 4 to develop syllable?
Anna G says
Yes, I think so!
Ruth Scicluna says
Hi thanks for sharing these lovely ideas. It`s very nice of you. You are an inspiration to me and many others, I work as a learning support educator in Malta and I can`t wait to use these beautiful ideas with the students I support. thanks so much xx