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 – 2018, Anna G. All rights reserved.
Michelle Swanson says
July 11, 2016 at 9:09 pmThank you, Anna! LOVE the syllable cards–the one with clapping hands. So useful in my K/1 Classroom!
Anna Geiger says
July 22, 2016 at 7:52 pmYay – so glad you can use them, Michelle!
caty says
August 23, 2016 at 3:39 pmSupper ideas! You;re an angel! Thank you so much!
Anna Geiger says
August 24, 2016 at 8:22 pmThank you, Caty!
afnan says
September 8, 2016 at 8:55 amthank you sooooo much
Anna Geiger says
September 17, 2016 at 6:11 amYou’re very welcome!
Marianthi Arvanitidou says
September 17, 2016 at 3:27 pmHello, 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
September 17, 2016 at 3:31 pmHi 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
September 19, 2016 at 4:53 pmWhere can I get syllable pocket chart sort?
Anna Geiger says
September 19, 2016 at 5:06 pmThere’s a green box that says “To get your free printable click HERE.”
Eli says
October 10, 2016 at 2:57 pmTHANK 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
October 14, 2016 at 9:20 amYou’re so welcome, Eli! I hope they make your transition to a new teaching position go a little more smoothly. 🙂
Carol says
January 22, 2017 at 4:30 pmI just joined, and I love it! Thank you so much for sharing.
Anna Geiger says
January 22, 2017 at 5:17 pmWelcome, Carol – so glad to have you with us!
Rhonda says
March 16, 2017 at 6:26 pmI am blown away with everything you have here! Thank you for sharing and all the time you put into everything!
Anna Geiger says
April 26, 2017 at 2:37 pmYou’re very welcome, Rhonda, and thank you for your kind comment!
Ann V. says
April 23, 2017 at 9:18 amI 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
April 26, 2017 at 2:37 pmI’ve never tried chalk on carpet, Ann – thanks so much for the idea!
SALEH MUHAMMAD says
June 4, 2017 at 3:20 amYOUR 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
June 5, 2017 at 10:34 pmThank you so much for your kind words, Saleh! I’m so glad my materials are useful for your students!
Karen says
June 22, 2017 at 10:39 amThese activities are enriching.I like the activites done how to reinforce or count the syllables.
Anna G says
July 2, 2017 at 8:43 amI’m so glad you like them, Karen!
Ahmad says
July 31, 2017 at 2:15 amThank 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
August 12, 2017 at 8:50 amThank you so much for the encouragement, Ahmad! I hope to be doing this for many years!
leslie says
August 11, 2017 at 11:27 amyour site is wonderful. thank you so much!
Anna G says
August 19, 2017 at 3:35 pmI’m so glad you found me, Leslie!
youn says
February 18, 2018 at 7:44 amthank you so much ^^
Anna G says
February 22, 2018 at 6:59 amYou’re welcome, Youn!
Anjali says
February 19, 2018 at 1:16 amThank you so much !For your wonderful effort.
Anna G says
February 23, 2018 at 9:10 amYou’re very welcome, Anjali!
Emily says
November 26, 2018 at 9:58 pmHello! 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
November 27, 2018 at 8:42 amClick the big green button that says “to get your free printable, click HERE.” It’s toward the end of the post.
Emma Hernandez says
April 10, 2019 at 8:43 amThank you these activity cards are awesome, my students love them and have become super supers, than you again, Emma