What Are Syllables — And Why Do We Teach Kids to Spot Them?

Kate Baker
Jun 5
3 min read

If you’ve ever seen your child clapping their hands while saying a word out loud, they weren’t just making noise — they were probably trying to count the number of syllables, a key stepping stone on the journey to strong reading and spelling.

Let’s break down what syllables are, how we teach children to hear them, and why they matter so much.

What Is a Syllable?

A syllable is a beat or “chunk” of sound in a word. Every syllable has one vowel sound — which could be made of one letter (a, e, i, o, u) or more (ai, ea, oi etc).

Some examples:

Cat = 1 syllable
Picnic = 2 syllables (pic-nic)
Elephant = 3 syllables (el-e-phant)
Unbelievable = 5 syllables (un-be-liev-a-ble)

If you say a word out loud and listen for the natural “beats” — that’s where the syllables are.

Why Do We Teach Kids to Spot Syllables?

Syllable awareness helps with two big parts of literacy:

1. Reading longer words

When children learn to break words into syllables, they can:

Decode in smaller, manageable chunks
Avoid being overwhelmed by longer or unfamiliar words
Build reading fluency and confidence

Instead of trying to read volcano all at once, they can break it into: vol – ca – no.

2. Spelling tricky words

Syllables help children spell words more accurately because:

They learn to listen for each vowel sound
They break the word down into parts and spell each part step-by-step
They’re less likely to leave sounds or letters out

If a child knows a word has 3 syllables, they know to listen for 3 separate vowel sounds — which keeps them on track.

How Do We Teach Kids to Find Syllables?

One of the easiest and most effective ways is the clapping method:

👋 Say the word out loud, and clap each time your voice naturally “bounces” or creates a beat.

Try it:

Sun (1 clap)
Ti-ger (2 claps)
Com-pu-ter (3 claps)

You can also place your hand under your chin — each time your jaw drops naturally as you say the word, that’s usually a syllable!

The Rule: Every Syllable Needs a Vowel Sound

This is a key thing to teach and remember:

Every syllable must contain a vowel sound.

This helps children when:

Spelling: if they’re trying to spell a syllable with no vowel, something’s missing!
Reading: it helps them identify where to split the word and how to pronounce it

Sometimes the letter y can act as a vowel sound, like in the words crying or cycle.

Tips for Practising at Home

Play syllable games: Clap the syllables of names, food, animals, toys!
Syllable sorting: Write words on cards and sort them into groups by how many syllables they have.
Clap and spell: Say a word, clap it out, then try to spell it one syllable at a time.
Highlight the vowels: When spelling, underline or circle the vowels in each syllable to make sure they’re all there.

In Summary

Learning to hear and count syllables is a vital skill that helps children become better readers and more accurate spellers. By teaching them to spot syllables and understand that every syllable contains a vowel sound, we give them powerful tools to tackle longer words with confidence.

Want some help teaching your child to read at home? My Reading Skills Workbooks teach all the key sounds through gamified activities to keep engagement high and frustration low. They provide structured, evidence-based learning to help struggling readers thrive.

👉 Check out the workbooks to start your child's reading journey today!