How can students show you where they think a multi-syllable word should be divided?
When reading words with more than one syllable, I often ask my student to show me where they’re going to split the word to divide it into syllables so that they can see each syllable and syllable type (and so I can see how they are dividing it).
When they’re reading off a sheet of paper, they can draw a line with pencil. But what about when they are reading a book or something you don’t want them to write on?
I came up with this handy “syllable splitter” using an envelope with a clear cellophane window. Simply cut around the window, leaving a little bit of a border, then draw a straight line down the middle of the window using a pen. Your student can see the word through the window, and move the pen line around in between the letters to show where it splits.
use a window envelope to make this quick syllable divider
have students use the line to show the syllable split
And unlike pencil, the student can adjust where they split the word without having to erase. This is helpful if they are splitting a word with an uneven number of consonants that could split either way and they need to try them both to see which works. And once they’ve worked it out and remove the window, they can practice re-reading the word without the dividing line.