Syllable Review

Syllables cause the rhythm and flow in poetry. Poets select words not only for their meanings but for their syllabication pattern so that they can control the rhythm in the poem. A syllable is a single spoken sound that forms a word or a part of a word. Children often practice counting syllables by clapping each beat of the word in question.

For example:

"sound" is one syllable: "sound"
as is "for", "tree" or "house"

"rabbit" is two syllables: "rab*bit"
as is "ran*dom", "snow*man" or "ten*nis"

 "syllable" is three syllables:  "sy *la* ble"
as is "ex*am*ple", "di*vi*sion" or "won*der*ful"

Practice counting the number of syllables in the following words.

1. November
3
2
1

2. underground
2
3
4

3. peace
2
1
4

4. introduction
5
2
4

5. daisy
1
2
3

6. and
1
2
3

7. acorn
2
3
4

8. waterfall
2
3
4

9. haiku
3
1
2

10. sing
2
3
1

Score =
Correct answers:

Good job! Remember, if you run into trouble, a dictionary will show the division of syllables in words. Feeling more comfortable with counting syllables? Great! Now move on with the lesson.

Back to the Syllabication Page!!