A consonant-le syllable is always found at the end of a word. It is also known as a āstable final syllableā. This syllable pattern contains a consonant followed by the letters āleā, as in ātableā or āappleā.
This syllable type doesnāt have a strong vowel sound, and the consonant and āleā together form the final syllable.
If combined with an open syllable (e.g. table, title), there is no doubled consonant.
If combined with a closed syllable (e.g. puddle, little), there is a double consonant.
Teaching Tips
We need to make sure that students know that JUST because thereās an āleā at the end of a word, doesnāt make it a final stable syllable.
- For example, words like female, profile, pinhole are not consonant + le words. They have a vowel before the āleā.
- There must be a consonant before the āleā.
There are 2 ways to teach students to work with consonant + le words - pick one way to teach it and be consistent:
- When students see an āleā at the end of a word and a consonant before it ā tell them that the āleā likes to snatch the consonant and pull it to the second syllable.
- Once students have located the āleā and seen a consonant before it, they can then count ( starting with the e): 1-2-3 divide.
Example Word: puzzle
- When students have located the āleā and seen a consonant before it, theyāre going to count, starting with the e: 1-2-3 divide.
- Once the word has been divided, itās time to read each syllable.
- First syllable ā g closes in the u, the u makes itās short sound.
- Second syllable, we have a consonant + le, so in this syllable, the consonant will make its sound, followed by an unaccented schwa and l sound.
Other examples:
