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Fun Ways to Count Syllables

If your child has trouble counting syllables, or if you are teaching this concept for the first time, this post is for you! Read on to discover four fun ways to count syllablesand while you’re at it, be sure to check out all the extra practice activities and download a free printable “Count the Syllables” game.

But first, a quick definition …

What Are Syllables?

A syllable is a “word chunk” that contains a single vowel sound. A word may have one, two, or even more syllables. For example:

  • bat has one vowel sound and therefore one syllable
  • sticky has two vowel sounds and therefore two syllables
  • south has one vowel sound—/ow/—and therefore one syllable
Monkey pointing out the three word chunk syllables in the word 'fantastic'

Four Easy Ways to Count Syllables

Most of us learned to count syllables with the first method below, the Clap Method. But for a little extra variety and a lot of extra fun, I’ve included three other effective methods. If your child just doesn’t “get it” with one of the methods, take a short break and then try a different one!

  1. The Clap Method. The Clap Method is the most common way to teach syllable counting, and it works well for most students. Say the word and clap the syllables, like this:

  2. The Hum Method. With the Hum Method, you hum the word instead of saying the word. Count the number of hums.

  3. The Talk-Like-a-Robot Method. When you use the Talk-Like-a-Robot Method, you pretend you’re a robot and say the word in a robotic tone, with a pause between each word chunk.

  4. The Jump Method. Get active! For each syllable, jump in place. Croc-o-dile would be three hops. Hap-py would be two hops.

Count Syllables with this Adorable Game!

Your child can use any of the four methods above (Clap, Hum, Talk-Like-a-Robot, or Jump) to practice counting syllables with this free printable game.

Download this fun syllable counting activity

Count Syllables with SIX Fun Activities

Counting syllables is an important phonemic awareness activity, and that’s why we teach it several different ways in the All About Reading and All About Spelling programs. Children who have acquired this skill generally learn to read and spell much more easily. But don’t despair if your child doesn’t pick up this skill right away! It’s a rather abstract concept that can take time and repetition to sink in.

Here are some additional activities that can help your child identify syllables.

  • Sing simple songs with a STRONG BEAT that your child knows.A red and blue drum

    For example, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Clap out each beat in the song like this: “Mar – y – had – a – lit – tle – lamb – its – fleece – was – white – as – snow.” Or you could try beating out the rhythm on a homemade drum (box and spoon, or oatmeal container and chopsticks). Call it music class, and work on it a little each day. Be sure to pick songs in which each syllable is sung on only one beat.

  • Play a robot game with your child.

    Your child gives you a word, and you say it in your best robotic voice, separating the syllables. Then switch roles—you give your child a word to try. Have a contest to see who can sound the most like a robot!

  • FootballClap the syllables in compound words.

    Clap once for foot, once for ball, and then put it together and clap twice for football. Other compound words that work well include cobweb, backpack, rainbow, toothbrush, cupcake, popcorn, and airplane. You can get some extra mileage out of this activity by using it as you teach and practice compound words, too!

  • Turn mealtime into practice time.

    At mealtime, use the food on your plate as inspiration for a syllable counting game. One at a time, each family member announces what he is eating. As you say what you’re eating, playfully break up the words into chunks. “I’m eating a pic-kle!” “Would you like some spa-ghet-ti?” “Please pass the sal-ad.

  • Cartoon zebraPlay “going to the zoo.”

    Take turns calling out animal names and, if possible, the sounds they make. Then everyone can jump, beat, or clap to the syllables. Here are a few examples: “I went to the zoo, and I saw a kan-ga-roo.” “I went to the zoo, and I saw a ze-bra!” “I went to the zoo, and I saw a tur-key, and the tur-key said, gob-ble-gob-ble!”

  • Clap the syllables in the names of friends and family members.

    This is also a wonderful way for your child to work on remembering all his relatives’ names!

Keep It Fun!

Above all, keep your syllable counting practice light and playful, and if your child doesn’t understand right away, try again in a week or so with a different method or activity. Need a reminder? Download the handy chart below and hang it right on your fridge!

4 Ways to Count Syllables downloadable chart

Does your child know how to count syllables? Which of these activities have you tried?

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Leave a Reply

Laura

says:

Thank you so much. We tried the clap, and the hand under the chin, but those didn’t work for my 5 year old. But the humming was instant success! We really appreciate the help and tips in all your posts.

Robin

says: Customer Service

Laura,
I’m happy to hear humming was the ticket to help your 5-year-old understand counting syllables! It’s great that you had a variety of methods to try to find the one that worked for your child!

Sadia Hina

says:

Best techniques I have ever seen

Robin

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Sadia!

Cathie

says:

Hi Robin,

I already used the clapping method but I’m looking forward to testing the other methods you suggest.
Thank you so much for sharing.
As an English teacher for very young French kids in France, I’m always looking for new material/ideas, with little or no expense (that’s some challenge, believe me !) and your site helps A LOT !!
Thank you 😊🙏🏻🌷

Have a nice day !☀️

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m so pleased to hear that the site is proving useful for you, Cathie! You’re very welcome.

Anam

says:

By written method

Lisa Nolan

says:

This will be a fantastic way to teach this concept!
Thanks so much!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Lisa!

Shubha praveen

says:

This is somuch fun to teach,thank you

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Shubha! I’m pleased to hear you enjoyed teaching it.

RKM

says:

These are fun ideas! We’ve done the clapping; I will test out the robot method next time we need this for some fun!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I hope you have lots of fun with these!

Donald Errol Knight

says:

Very practical and useful suggestions.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Donald.

wenona

says:

I use the hand under the chin, each syllable the chin drops. It was the easiest for my oldest. I think my youngest will like the jumping part but I am encouraging the clapping version.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

The hand-under-the-chin method for counting syllables was especially helpful for one of my kids, Wenona! But different methods work for different kids, so it’s always nice to have a variety to choose from. One of my kids did well with clapping but didn’t like the noise so she tapped a finger instead.

Trey Partch

says:

Count your syllables like me! ———– The Princess Method!

Julie

says:

Thank you for the syllable counting printable and great ideas!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Julie!

Sabrina

says:

Jumping, Humming, and Clapping are all a huge hit with the kiddos I nanny (and homeschool or tutor). The energetic six year old doesn’t realize it is school work when we use jumping and she thinks the clapping is preparing her future pop-star goals. Humming is awesome the shy 9 year old who doesn’t want anyone to know she doesn’t know the answer right off the spot!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I love that your student doesn’t think all this is learning, but thinks it’s just fun, Sabrina!

cheryl

says:

I’d never heard of the talk-like-a-robot method. Looking forward to trying that out with my boys. Such a fun way to count syllables!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Cheryl,
I hope your boys have as much fun with talking like a robot as my boys have had! ?

shawna

says:

Looking forward to trying this with my 6 yr old

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I hope your child has a lot of fun and learning with this, Shawna!

snehal kharva

says:

very useful…thank you

Rashanda K

says:

I’ve heard of the clap method, but I love the other options suggested here! Thanks for the ideas!

Rachel Kelly

says:

Same here, it’s lovely to have other ideas.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re welcome, Rashanda! Glad to hear you like them.

Kelly

says:

I love the hum idea and think it will help syllables click for my musical child!

Jena Steele

says:

Love the robot idea! How fun!!

Julie Johnston

says:

Love these fun ideas!

Julie

says:

These are great ideas!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thanks, Julie!

Mama Jones

says:

I have always taught my students to hold their hand under their chin. Each time their chin touches their hand, it is a syllable.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Great tip, thank you!

Alexandra

says:

These are great ideas. Thank you. I usually have them count with fingers or manipulative. They sometimes loose tracks of how many when clapping. And then there’s always one who always tries to clap the loudest instead of counting

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Alexander,
I can easily see a child just wanting to clap louder and louder instead of trying to keep track of syllables. I had one or two that were like that.

Using a manipulative like a token for each syllable is a great idea, thank youj.

Kim

says:

O my goodness. I never would have thought of so many different ways to count syllables. All of these are active and engaging.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Thank you, Kim!

Carly Nelson

says:

I love all the extra support this program provides. My girl is flying through the phonics portion but struggles with syllables. I love that I can add extra of what she needs without slowing down our over all progress.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

I’m glad this is helpful for you, Carly. And if you ever any help for something we don’t have a blog post about, or you need more help than a blog post provides, please just let us know We are here to help!

Emanuela

says:

I have never thought that counting syllables can be so funny! Thank you for the great ideas!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

You’re so welcome, Emanuela! I hope you have lots and lots of fun with this.

Sarah

says:

Thank you so much for the game. My soon to be second grader struggled with this and is getting better. She loved the game.

nikki rod

says:

Thank you!! This has been harder than I thought it would be… nice to have some new tricks up sleeve.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Nikki,
An additional tip that helped my youngest child was placing her hand under her chin and counting how many times it went down. This was really helpful for words like mile that kind of sound like two syllables (my-ul) but aren’t. The chin only goes down once when you say mile.

If your child continues to have difficulties, let me know. This is can tricky to understand and master and I may be able to help you further.

Shannon

says:

Those words like “mile,” “fire,” “wire,” etc. are hard to determine whether they are one syllable or two! Because I would say words like “liar” and “flyer” have two, but the chin doesn’t go down a second time on the /er/ because of the shape of the vowel.

In this case, I think the Silent E is really the thing that seems to determine they are one syllable. Combine what the eye sees and what the chin does to get the right answer.

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Such a great point, Shannon! Thank you! R is such a tricky letter.

Christina

says:

Super helpful! Thanks for the tips!

Judith Martinez

says:

I have always used the clap method but I like the hum method!

Jennefer

says:

We are so grateful for all the games and resources you provide!

Robin E.

says: Customer Service

Awww, thank you, Jennefer!