Open and Closed Syllables: How to Differentiate Between Them

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DeAngela Huggins: Okay guys. So we're going to get ready to start our lesson today.

Narrator: Today, Atlanta teacher DeAngela Huggins works with a small group of students to review open and closed syllables. It's a warmup that will prep them for reading two syllable words later in the lesson.

DeAngela Huggins: All right, so we're going to be working with words that have more than one syllable today. So I thought it'd be really cool that if we start with our warmup with some syllables. So I'm going to show you a syllable on a card, and you're going to think about it and tell me whether or not that syllable is an open syllable or if it is a closed syllable. Okay? And then once we decide if it's open or closed, we're going to read that syllable. So remember, these aren't actually words. These are just what? Syllables. And we know a syllable is a part of a word that has a vowel sound. So you ready? All right. So this is our first syllable. Is it open or closed?

Students: Closed.

DeAngela Huggins: How do you know that it's closed?

Student: Because the 't' is blocking the 'e'. The 'e' is just saying, "Hey, let me out."

DeAngela Huggins: It's saying, "let me out." It's closed. So what type of sound would it have? And long or short sound?

Student: Short.

DeAngela Huggins: Short sound. So let's read our syllable together. It is ...

Ms. Huggins and students: /k/, /ĕ/, /t/. Ket.

DeAngela Huggins: What is it?

Students: Ket.

DeAngela Huggins: Very good. Nice. Here we go. Open or closed syllable. What is it?

Students: Closed.

DeAngela Huggins: It's a closed syllable. What consonant is closing in our vowel?

Student: 'S'.

DeAngela Huggins: What's going to be the sound of our 'u'?

Narrator: Ms. Huggins uses the up motion to remind her students to say the short sound for the letter 'u'.

DeAngela Huggins: Then we have open or closed?

Students: Closed.

DeAngela Huggins: What's the sound of our vowel?

Students: /ă/.

DeAngela Huggins: And let's read it.

Students: Las.

DeAngela Huggins: Why is it important to know that ... if it's open or if it's closed? Why do we need to know that? Why do we even care? Leona?

Leona: If we know if it's open or closed, then we know if it makes its long sound or it's short sound.

DeAngela Huggins: And that helps us to do what?

Leona: Read and write.

DeAngela Huggins: Very good. It helps us to read and write the words. So what was our syllable? Let's go.

Students: Las.

DeAngela Huggins: Very good. Here we go. One another one. Open or closed syllables?

Students: Open.

DeAngela Huggins: Open. So if it's open, Georgia, what's this honor of vowel?

Georgia: /ō/.

DeAngela Huggins: /ō/. Now let's read our syllable together. It is ...?

Students: Bo.

DeAngela Huggins: What is it?

Students: Bo.

DeAngela Huggins: Very good. And then our last one. Can you tell me? Dun, dun, dun! Do you think it's going to be open or closed?

Student: Closed.

DeAngela Huggins: Let's see, what is it?

Narrator: Now Ms. Huggins will have them read the syllables again. This time without the extra work of decoding. This practice takes just a minute and helps build fluency.

DeAngela Huggins: Very good. You guys did a very nice job. Let's read them one more time. Let's go.

Students: Tus.

DeAngela Huggins: Here we go.

Students: Ket. Do. /dō/

DeAngela Huggins: /dō/ does look like the word do, but because this is just a syllable, it's just a part. So it is /dō, /and we have ...

Narrator: To extend this activity. You could put two of the syllable cards together and show how to read a two syllable word.

Students: Hap.

DeAngela Huggins: Very nice job.

Narrator: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale, the Hastings Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the AFT, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and anonymous donors. Special thanks to Burgess-Peterson Academy and Atlanta Public Schools. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUteaching. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington D.C., the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.

DeAngela Huggins:

This is Reading Universe.

Teaching Strategy Tip

You’ll notice that during the lesson Ms. Huggins raises her arms in a ‘u’ shape to show a short vowel and puts her arms straight out from her sides to show a long vowel. These arm movements are meant to mimic the breve and macron symbols. You can learn more about these symbols in our skill explainer on closed syllables.