Segmenting syllables name game

Activity Type: Introduce

Activity Form: Game

Grade: K, 1

Group Size: Small Group, Whole Class

Length: 5 minutes

Goal: Given a spoken word, the student can clap once for each syllable in the word ( "pencil" -> clap, clap ).

Items: Substitute names of students in your class for those used below.

What to do

Call out the names of the students in your class twice, the second time clapping each time you say a syllable. Robert, Ro-bert, Maria, Ma-ri-a, Jacqui, Ja-cqui. Do you want to join in? Robert, Ro-bert, Maria, Ma-ri-a, Jacqui, Ja-cqui... Continue around the class. Look for students who are not clapping correctly so you can give them extra practice in a moment.
When you have gone around the whole class say, Okay, let's change the game. This time, you say your own name clapping out each part of the word. Ready? Start with a student likely to get it right.
For students who struggle, model the correct response and have them do it with you and then on their own. Then ask them to try the same for one of their friends' names.
Do you see how longer words often have more parts? Let's look at Samantha and Paul. Write Samantha and Paul on the board, then clap them out. Sa-man-tha has three parts. Paul has one.
Now I'm going to choose someone and give you a word to clap out, just like you did with your name. Ready? Maria, your word is kitten. Again, have struggling students follow your model and try again on another word. It can be fun to choose words from a single category--such as animals or food--and then to ask students what the words have in common.