283. Your Guide to Teaching Syllabication in Upper Elementary [Listen Again]

In today’s episode, I’m unpacking a skill that often gets overlooked in upper elementary but has a huge impact on whether students can read big words with confidence. So many of our students see a long word and immediately freeze or give up, not because they don’t want to try, but because they don’t have the tools to break the word apart. That’s where syllabication comes in. When we intentionally teach students about syllable types and syllable division, we give them the confidence and know-how to tackle long words with accuracy and independence.

Throughout the episode, I unpack why syllabication is such an essential part of reading instruction in grades 3–5. I talk through the six syllable types, the foundational vowel sounds students need to understand, and why prompts like “slow down” or “break apart the word” aren’t effective unless students actually know how to do those things. I also share several reasons students struggle with multisyllabic words—gaps in early instruction, difficulty applying known rules to longer words, and the increased complexity of upper elementary texts. Most importantly, I focus on how teaching syllabication directly supports fluency, comprehension, and word recognition, and how it complements the work we’re already doing with prefixes, suffixes, and roots.

Finally, I break down what effective syllable instruction looks like in the classroom: explicit, systematic teaching paired with ongoing practice. I walk you through how to introduce each syllable type, why to start with simple examples, the importance of teaching exceptions, and ways to build in meaningful practice through warmups, small groups, independent reading, and vocabulary routines. My goal in this episode is to help you feel confident bringing syllabication into your classroom—because when students understand how syllables work, they gain a powerful tool for reading big words. And if you’re looking for ready-to-use lessons and visuals to support your teaching, be sure to check out the syllable types resource I mentioned at stellarteacher.com/syllables.

***This episode is a replay of Episode 121, a listener favorite that continues to help teachers support students with multisyllabic words.

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To check out all of the resources from this episode, head to the show notes: https://www.stellarteacher.com/episode283.