1. An Overview of Consonant '-le' Syllables

Words like puzzle, mantle, and nimble might seem intimidating to teach to first graders; but after they learn how to read multisyllabic words, they're ready to learn the consonant '-le' pattern, the key to these types of words. And most of your students will catch on pretty quickly!

The consonant '-le' syllable is typically the last syllable type that students will learn because it only occurs in multisyllabic words; for example, the ‘-ble’ in bubble is a consonant '-le' syllable. 

Here are some important things to know about the consonant '-le' syllable type:

• You'll never find consonant '-le' in a one syllable word. Even the word able has two syllables: 'a-' and '-ble'.

• It's found in the last syllable of a multisyllabic word, before we add prefixes and suffixes. For example, in the word sniffle, the consonant '-le' syllable is the last syllable in the word. But if we add the suffix '-ing' to the word, it becomes sniffling; and now the suffix is the last syllable.
• Consonant '-le' always has three letters: a consonant that is followed by ‘l’ and ‘e’. When we have a word like giggle, we divide the syllables between the two 'g's. That gives us the closed syllable 'gig-' and the consonant '-le' syllable '-gle'.
• The 'e' is silent in this syllable type; readers combine the consonant sound with a schwa sound /ŭ/ and the 'l' to read the syllable.
• The consonant '-le' syllable is what we call a final stable syllable. That means that the spelling is predictable and how it's pronounced remains stable, making it easier to read and spell!