• Sound-Spelling Patterns

    word families

    For the following activities, your child will blend letters, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words. Use the documents below as needed before or while engaging in the activities.

    Sound-spelling patterns consist of letters that are often combined to make a specific sound. Common sound-spelling patterns can include consonant patterns, vowel patterns, and syllable patterns. See examples below (not an exhaustive list of examples).

     

     

    A syllable is a word part with a vowel in it. Usually, a word has as many syllables as it has vowels. Vowels are a, e, i, o, u. The other letters (like b, c, d, f) are consonants.

    • Cat has one syllable.
    • Picnic has two syllables (pic‑nic).
    • Yesterday has three syllables (yes‑ter‑day).

     

    Syllable Pattern Description Examples
    Open A syllable ending with a vowel sound that is spelled with a single vowel letter (a, e, i, o, or u).
    me
    pro/gram
    mu/sic
    Closed A syllable ending in one or more consonants and a short vowel sound spelled with one vowel.
    hat
    dish
    bas/ket)
    VCe V stands for vowel. C stands for consonant. e is the silent e at the end of a syllable or word.

    A syllable pattern that ends in silent e, which makes the vowel before it a long sound (say its name).
    stripe
    shine
    bake
    Vowel Team A syllable that has multiple vowels spelling the vowel.
    tooth
    pain
    train/er
    Vowel‑r A syllable that has at least one vowel followed by an r. The r always comes directly after the vowel (ar, er, ir, or, ur).
    car
    bird
    cor/ner
    Consonant‑le A final syllable that contains a consonant followed by le. The e is always silent in this syllable pattern.