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Syllables Worksheets for Kindergarten

11 free PDFsUS Letter or A4Answer key includedNo login

Clap, count, sort and blend syllables with picture worksheets, from one-clap words like cat to four-clap words like watermelon, plus a syllable word list.

Download the syllables worksheets

Clap and count syllables

Say the word, clap the parts and show how many.

Sort, compare and blend

Use what you hear: sort by claps, find the longer word and put word parts together.

Print at 100% (actual size) for the cleanest tracing lines.

About these syllables worksheets

A syllable is a beat in a word. Cat has one, ap-ple has two, ba-na-na has three. Kindergartners learn to hear these beats by clapping them, and counting syllables is often the first time children notice that a word can be broken into parts.

Every sheet here uses pictures with the word printed underneath, so children can clap along with you whether they read yet or not. Start with clap and count, where children color one box for each clap. Then circle the number of claps, sort pictures into 1, 2 and 3 claps by writing their numbers, and compare two words to find the longer one. The blending page works the other way: you say the word in parts and your child finds the picture.

Some 2 syllable words to clap: apple, rabbit, monkey, pencil, tiger, zebra, carrot, cookie, rocket, turtle, lemon, pumpkin. Three-syllable words include banana, elephant, kangaroo, dinosaur and umbrella. The syllable word list shows all of these with dots between the parts.

Standards

  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2.BCount, pronounce, blend, and segment syllables in spoken words.
  • CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RF.K.2Demonstrate understanding of spoken words, syllables, and sounds (phonemes).

How to use them

  1. Say the word in a normal voice first, then say it again slowly while clapping each part.
  2. Have your child put a hand under their chin while saying the word. Each time the chin drops, that is a syllable.
  3. On clap and count pages, children color one box for each clap. Boxes they don't need stay empty.
  4. On the sort pages, children write the picture's number in a box under 1, 2 or 3 claps. If writing numbers is new, let them point and you write.
  5. Try the challenge page with words up to four syllables, like watermelon and helicopter, once three-syllable words are easy.

Teaching tips

  • Clap children's names first. Names are familiar and motivating, and they come in every length.
  • Some children clap every sound instead of every beat. Model with long words, where the beats are easier to hear.
  • Stomping, jumping or tapping a drum works as well as clapping and helps wiggly learners.
  • Regional accents can change syllable counts for a few words (fire, flower). Accept what your child hears if they clap it the same way each time.

Questions teachers and parents ask

How do you teach syllables to kindergarten?

Clap the beats in words, starting with names. Say each word slowly while clapping, then count the claps together. The chin trick helps: the chin drops once for each syllable.

What are some 2 syllable words for kindergarten?

apple, rabbit, monkey, pencil, tiger, zebra, carrot, cookie, rocket, turtle, lemon, pumpkin, pizza and robot are all easy to picture and clap.

Should kindergartners write syllables?

Not yet. In kindergarten, syllables are a listening skill. Children clap, count, blend and break up words they hear. Writing words in parts comes later.

Is a syllable the same as a sound?

No. Cat has one syllable but three sounds: /k/ /a/ /t/. Syllables are the bigger beats; sounds are the smallest parts. The phonemic awareness pages practice the sounds.

Are these syllable worksheets free?

Yes. Every page is a free PDF with no sign-up, in US Letter and A4. Sheets with right answers have an answer key on page 2.