Now that your child is required to read difficult text, he needs to know what to do when they get to an unknown word. Besides the "Stuck on a Word" strategy, they must be able to "attack" longer words. Click below to learn the rules for dividing a word into its syllables.
Note: To determine the number of syllables in a word, count the number of vowels that you actually hear.
Vowels: a, e, i, o, u and don't forget "y"
Examples:
V V V V
unhappiness
(4 vowels will be heard, therefore this is a 4 syllable word)
V V
lady
(2 vowels are heard, therefore this is a 2 syllable word)
V V V (but it's a silent e)
confuse
(only 2 vowels are heard since the "magic e" is silent, therefore this is a 2 syllable word)