Syllable counter: clap the syllables

What the syllable counter does

A syllable is one beat of a word: cat has one, pen-cil has two, and but-ter-fly has three. The tool shows a word in big letters with two speaker buttons, one at normal speed and one slow, using the voice built into your device. The child taps the big Clap button once for each beat they hear, and a row of clapping hands keeps count. Check says whether the count is right. If it isn't, the child is asked to listen again and clap slowly; after two misses, a Show me button appears.

Once the count is right, the word splits into colored chunks, like hip-po-pot-a-mus, so the child sees how the beats they heard match the letters on the page. There are three levels: Easy (1 or 2 syllables), Medium (2 or 3) and Hard (3 to 5), and the score counts words right on the first try.

Why clapping helps

Hearing the parts of a word comes before reading and spelling it. Clapping turns an invisible sound pattern into a movement a child can count. Later, breaking a long printed word into syllables is one of the main ways children decode words they haven't seen before: wa-ter-mel-on is far less scary than watermelon.

Common mix-ups

• Counting letters or vowel letters instead of sounds. Cake has two vowel letters but one syllable, because the e is silent.
• Clapping too fast to hear the beats. The slow speaker button helps, and so does saying the word like a robot.
• Splitting words in odd places. Each syllable has exactly one vowel sound, so look for the vowel sounds first.
• Expecting the split to match a dictionary exactly. This tool splits words the way they sound when said slowly; dictionaries sometimes break words differently for printing.

A 10-minute routine

• On Easy, the child taps the speaker, repeats the word, and claps it before pressing Check. Do five words.
• Teach the chin trick: hand flat under the chin, say the word, and count the times the jaw drops.
• Move to Medium for five more words, using the turtle button for any miss.
• After each correct word, read the split chunks aloud, one finger under each.
• Finish with two Hard words, then say a family member's name and clap it.

Where it fits by grade

• Kindergarten: count, pronounce, blend and segment syllables in spoken words (RF.K.2.b). In England, Year 1 spelling includes dividing words into syllables, such as rab-bit and sun-set.
• Grade 1: use the fact that every syllable has a vowel sound to count syllables in a printed word (RF.1.3.d), and decode two-syllable words by breaking them into syllables (RF.1.3.e).
• Grade 2: read longer words syllable by syllable, using the Medium and Hard levels. Year 2 and 3 children in England use the same skill for longer spellings.

Learning more

Eurekami covers English as well as math. Lessons break new words into parts, the skill map shows which reading skills are secure, and Daily Practice brings back the ones that start to fade.