How many claps?--A syllable counting activity

Today I am sharing an activity I just finished for the pre-reading shelf.  In teacher jargon, this activity would be considered a "phonemic awareness" activity.  Research has shown that children who enter school with good phonemic awareness have greater success in learning to read.  It is important to distinguish phonemic awareness from phonics.  Phonics refers to the correspondence between letters and the sounds they make, while phonemic awareness refers to the understanding that a spoken word is make up of individual sounds.  Phonemic awareness relies on "hearing" sounds in spoken language in the absense of printed words.  A child with good phonemic awareness would be able to orally segment the word "cat" into its component sounds.  Prior to breaking words apart into sounds, children should be able to "hear" syllables in words.  A good way to help children become aware of syllables within words is to have them "clap" the word.  A fun place to start is with their own names or the names of their classmates.  For example, "Anna" would be a 2-clap name, and "John" a 1-clap name.  "Samantha" would be a 3-clap name and so on.  It is not necessary to use the word "syllable" with young children.  Instead, keep it fun and talk about the "beats" or "claps" in different words.  Young children, with practice, will quickly learn that "elephant" has "more claps" than "dog".  And their increasing auditory awareness of the sounds of their language will ultimately help them when they begin to read.

Here is the activity on the tray.  The little clear box is holding the syllable picture cards.  The yellow pail is holding the "clap" cards and on the front of the tray is a pair of children's mittens.

To introduce this activity, lay out the "clap" cards in order across the top of the rug.  Then take out one of the picture cards and tell the child you are going to "clap" the word.  Model saying the word while clapping the syllables.  Say, "Hat is one clap.  I'll put it here."  Place the hat picture below the control card showing one pair of clapping hands.  Repeat for a few pictures, then let the child try some.  The mittens are provided to make the "clapping" more fun.  However, the activity can be completed with or without mittens.  The photo on the right shows how I have programmed the back of each picture card with a sticker that shows how many syllables in the word.  Click to view the photo larger.  I have made the clap cards and picture cards available for download below.  There are 6 pictures each of one, two and three syllable words.

Download syllable_clap_counting_cards.doc     Download one_syllable_pictures.doc

Download two_syllable_pictures.doc      Download three_syllable_pictures.doc

NOTE:  A fun variation of this activity would be to take photos of all the children in your classroom and program the back of their photos with how many syllables in their names. 

ALSO:  I did not come up with this activity.  I found the idea on another teacher's website and I cannot remember where.  I apologize for not being able to give credit where credit is due.  I did, however, make the files available for download above.  You are welcome to use them with your child at home or with the children in your classroom.

Comments

[Brenda]

GREAT idea for literacy! I also like the mittens for sound control. I'd love to see more ideas in this area.

[hypotheek grafiek]

The data explained in this report appears to be interesting, however I may not be able to post appropriate comment related to this topic.

[Donna]

I love the clap cards! I downloaded them and will be using them. Thanks for making these available.

[Michelle]

I was working with my daughter on this activity and she said "teddy bear" instead of "bear" so she put it under three claps. I had it labeled as one clap b/c I thought it was "bear". Do you typically put it under one clap or three? I guess we're both correct!

[Tracy Moore]

Great little language activity. Thanks for sharing. We must think alike. I read the initial portion and went to download the clap cards. While they were printing I thought this would be really fun with everybody's picture and name. Came back and that's just what you suggest!Thanks again

[Lindart]

I really like this activity! The mittens add a cute touch and keep the clapping from disturbing the class. I'm going to make this for my class.
I wonder if you could make a list of all the pre-reading activities that you have? That's one area I need to work on.

[Lindart]

I really like this activity! The mittens add a cute touch and keep the clapping from disturbing the class. I'm going to make this for my class.
I wonder if you could make a list of all the pre-reading activities that you have? That's one area I need to work on.

[Shannon]

Laura,
This is EXACTLY what I needed for Josh. I have been intending to do syllables with him and kept forgetting. Last night I printed and cut these out...they are ready to go! Thank you very much for all your generosity!

[ines]

thank you for the downloads...i appreciate them...I really like this work..it's great for introducing the language area to a first year child. I can sense at times the child's hesistation to enter language..this work is a great bridge.

[Anna]

love this idea, thanks for sharing all your language materials