How to Teach Open Syllables - This Reading Mama - Free Printable

The image you've shared is a promotional graphic for an educational resource titled "How to Teach Open Syllables" by *This Reading Mama*. It's designed to help teachers and parents teach children how to read and divide words into syllables, specifically focusing on open syllables.

Let’s break down the content and explain what it means and how to use it:

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🔹 What Are Open Syllables?

An open syllable is a syllable that ends with a vowel and has no consonant after it, which means the vowel is "open" and usually pronounced as its long sound (e.g., the "a" in *cake* or "e" in *me*).

Examples:
- go → "go" is an open syllable (long O)
- she → "she" is an open syllable (long E)
- time → "ti" (open syllable) + "me" (closed syllable)

In open syllables, the vowel is typically pronounced as its name: A = /ā/, E = /ē/, I = /ī/, O = /ō/, U = /ū/.

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🔹 What’s Included in This Resource?

The graphic advertises the following free materials:

1. FREE Training Video
- A video tutorial explaining how to teach open syllables effectively.
- Likely includes strategies, examples, and classroom applications.

2. Printables (Worksheets)
Three sample worksheets titled "Read & Divide" are shown. These are practice sheets where students:
- Identify words with open syllables (usually VCV pattern: vowel-consonant-vowel).
- Read each word.
- Divide the word into syllables using a slash (/).
- Example: *relax* → re / lax

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🔹 How to Use the Printables

Each worksheet contains pairs of words. Students are instructed to:

1. Look for the VCV pattern (vowel-consonant-vowel), which often indicates an open syllable.
2. Read each word aloud.
3. Divide the word into syllables by placing a slash between them.

#### Examples from the worksheets:
- relax → re / lax
- music → mu / sic
- frozen → fro / zen
- zero → ze / ro
- lady → la / dy
- crazy → cra / zy

> Note: Some words like *human* (hu / man) and *begin* (be / gin) may not be purely open syllables but still follow similar division rules.

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🔹 Teaching Strategy

To teach open syllables effectively:

1. Introduce the Concept: Explain that when a vowel comes at the end of a syllable (without a consonant after it), it makes a long sound.
2. Use Visual Cues: Show how words split into syllables using slashes.
3. Practice with Word Lists: Use the printables to give students hands-on practice.
4. Reinforce with Phonics: Connect this to phonics rules—especially the difference between open and closed syllables.
5. Watch the Video: The training video likely provides modeling and step-by-step guidance.

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🔹 Why Is This Important?

Teaching open syllables helps students:
- Improve reading fluency.
- Break down longer words.
- Understand spelling patterns.
- Develop phonemic awareness.

It’s especially useful for early readers learning to decode multisyllabic words.

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✔ Summary

This resource offers a free, practical way to teach open syllables using:
- An instructional video
- Printable worksheets with real-world word examples

By practicing dividing words like *relax*, *music*, and *zero*, students learn to recognize and pronounce open syllables correctly—building strong foundational reading skills.

If you're a teacher or parent looking to support literacy development, this is a valuable tool!

👉 To access the video and printables, visit the website mentioned: thisreadingmama.com (as indicated in the bottom right corner).