Open syllables end with a vowel. The vowel is not ‘closed in’ by a consonant. In this type of syllable, the vowel makes its long sound.
Helpful analogy - the door is open and the vowel sound gets to shout its name out the door.
Open syllables in multi-syllabic words follow a VCV pattern (Vowel-Consonant-Vowel). When we see this pattern in words, the middle consonant usually goes with the second syllable.
We use a symbol called a macron to indicate when a vowel is making its long sound.
Teaching Tips for Multi-Syllabic Words
- Start with words with an open syllable in the first syllable and a closed second syllable (students already know how to read closed syllable words). e.g. robot, bonus, began
- Students can mark the open and closed syllables with the breve and macron, then read the word aloud.
- Once students are more confident, you could also do words with ‘er’ chunks e.g. tiger, razor (once students can read simple ‘er’ words.)
- Then expose to words with 2 open syllables
- Open syllables with a y on the end are a little trickier - learners need to know that y can make a vowel sound like in lazy, duty, crazy
