Phonological Awareness:
Segmenting Words
Introduction:
Auditory identification of syllables and other word parts should be taught before learning to read
those parts. Auditory recognition of syllables can be learned effectively through identifying and
counting them.
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Strategy: Identifying and Counting Word Parts
Materials Needed:
TTS-PA-SegW-Ident.pdf
With younger students, clap hands as you say each syllable in a word. With older students, tap a
pen on the table to denote syllables.
Say: I am going to say a word. Then I am going to say it again and clap [tap] for each
part of the word.
Here is the word: napkin. Listen as I clap out the parts of this word.
Nap (clap) . . . kin (clap). . . How many times did I clap?
- Here’s another word: stone. Stone
(clap). How many times did I clap?
Here’s another word: tablecloth. Ta (clap) . . . ble (clap). . . cloth (clap). How
many times did I clap?
On the Student Record Form, record the student’s responses.
Say: Here is a word for you to try clapping. Say it after me. Then clap out the parts of
this word by yourself.
(Allow the student to say the word and then clap.) How many times
did you clap?
Here is another: bicycle (Allow the student to say the word and then clap.) How
many times did you clap?On the Student Record Form, record the student’s responses.
Say: Now I will say some other words for you. You say each word after me. But this time,
instead of clapping, just tell me how many word parts you hear in the word I say.
For example, if I said violin, you would say, “vi . . . o . . . lin—three parts.”
- lunchbox
- milk
- gingerbread
On the Student Record Form, record the student’s responses.
If the student has difficulty, Say: Say this word with me: bookmark. Now say the word very slowly with me:
book . . . . . . mark. How many parts did you hear? Repeat this process with several of the words used in TTS. |
Interpreting and Using TTS Results:
A student having difficulty segmenting words into syllables will need to work first on hearing
the difference between one- and two-syllable words. Use of a multisensory technique, such as
clapping for each syllable, can be a helpful aid. After the student is able to recognize two
syllables in words easily, mix in some words containing three syllables. All word segmentation
exercises should be done collaboratively, with the student segmenting a word the teacher chooses
and the teacher segmenting a word the student chooses.
