Excerpted from Phonemic Awareness in Young Children: A Classroom Curriculum, by Marilyn Jager Adams, Ph.D., Barbara R. Foorman, Ph.D., Ingvar Lundberg, Ph.D., & Terri Beeler, Ed.D.

Copyright © 1998 by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Objective

To reinforce the children's ability to analyze words into syllables by asking them to clap and count the syllables in a variety of different words

Materials Needed

Pictures of various objects (optional)

Activity

Collect a number of objects in a box or basket. Make sure to include objects that differ from one another in the number of syllables in their name.

Invite one student to close her or his eyes, choose an object from the container, and name it (e.g., "This is a pencil"). All of the children should repeat the chosen object's name as they clap out its syllables. Then ask how many syllables were heard, taking care not to let anyone call out the answer too soon.

Gradually, as the children get better at the game, you can make it more difficult by using items with names that are longer and collectively more vaired in length. Happily, children tend to find very long words delightfully amusing.

Variations

• Use physical movements other than clapping.
  
  
• To extend the vocabulary of the game, use pictures instead of actual objects. To get double duty out of the activity, you may prefer to use pictures that are tied to a theme being studied in your classroom. For example, if studying the state of Texas, you might include pictures of boots, cacti, bluebonnets, and armadillos.
  
  
• As your group develops proficiency with this activity, ask one child both to clap the name of the object and respond with the number of syllables and ask the others to decide if the first child is correct.
  
  
• Using the top row of a pocket chart, arrange number cards to display the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, from left to right. Have a child pull a picture card from the basket and, using the same procedure as for the objects, clap and count the number of syllables. The child must then place the picture card beneath the correct number card in the pocket chart. Review the pictures, from left to right, once the row has been completed.
  
  
• After the children become very comfortable with this activity, let them try to determine the number of syllables in words without clapping or saying the words aloud. This is quite difficult because it removes the kinesthetic aspect, forcing the children instead to "hear" the words in their heads. Notably, many children seem to view this as a problem to be solved and enjoy it as a change when fairly competent with hearing syllables.