Bringing Phonics to Life: Closed Syllable Exceptions

You know when the holidays come around and you make a few, or maybe a ton, of exceptions when it comes to your diet? You can’t resist Grandma’s creamy chicken noodle soup because it’s a Thanksgiving tradition! How could you say no to Auntie’s pumpkin cookies? Your childhood memories are wrapped up in each and every bite! Sometimes exceptions have to be made when it comes to history and traditions!

Well, I’m here to tell you that you're not crazy for making some delightful holiday exceptions, and English isn’t crazy for making some too. In this case, we’re talking about closed syllable exceptions.

What are closed syllable exceptions?

Closed syllable exceptions are exactly what the name states. They are the exception to the closed syllable rule.

Before we go any further, let's review some pertinent information: opened and closed syllable types. A great way to teach open and closed syllables is with the following arm motions:

For an open syllable, have your students hold one arm out straight. Tell them that they are pretending their arm is a door and that it is open. Ask them if their arm is short or long. It's LONG! This can help them remember that the vowel in an open syllable makes its long sound. You can also make the connection between their arm being straight and the macron (symbol for the long vowel) is a straight line too!

For a closed syllable, have your students bend their arm in, just like it's a door closing. Now ask them if their arm is short or long. It's SHORT, just like the vowel sound in a closed syllable! Have them notice that their arm is bent, and if they trace the path of their arm, it makes a curve just like the breve , which is the symbol for the short vowel sound.

Now that we've got a foundation of terms, let’s get back to the exceptions! Some patterns don’t follow the closed syllable rule: -ind, -old, -ild, -olt & -ost. The words kind, bold, wild, bolt & host are all closed syllable exceptions.

Why? Because of history! Sometimes spelling makes much more sense when we trace words back to their origins. For example, the word kind used to be spelled kinde. And the word wild used to be spelled wilde.

Etymonline is a great resource for tracing the history of words.

When should you teach closed syllable exceptions?

You’re going to want to make sure your students have a solid understanding of a few concepts before introducing closed syllable exceptions, including: closed syllable, open syllable, blends, digraphs, welded/nasal blends, silent e syllable and maybe even a few vowel teams. They are going to run into these words before all of these skills are mastered, but that’s okay! Simply explain that there are exceptions to many rules, it's not a secret, but you're not ready to teach that concept just yet!

In our scope and sequence at Up & Away Literacy, we teach closed syllable exceptions after introducing the vowel teams <ai> and <ay> to help break up teaching too many vowel teams all together.

Now let’s get to the fun part!

How can I bring phonics to life with closed syllable exceptions?

Let me introduce you to the Kind Old Wild Ghost! Mnemonics are a great way to aid memory, and this cute little guy is an easy to remember reminder that syllables ending in -ind, -old, -ild and -ost are closed syllable exceptions.

Click on the poster below to get a free copy of our closed syllable exceptions anchor chart, featuring the Kind Old Wild Ghost.

If you want to see more of The Kind Old Wild Ghost and read my favorite decodable in our fiction series, make sure to check out the resources below. Not only will they save you loads of time, but your students will love them.

A Done-For-You Resource!

If you are looking for a unit on closed syllable exceptions that is already created for you... you're in luck! Our "Digital Science of Reading Phonics Lessons" have everything you’ll need. Just pull up the digital lessons on your smartboard, print off the coordinating materials for each lesson, and you are set!

These lessons are HIGHLY engaging and include the following for each concept:

Digital lessons, decodable word lists, student encoding pages with teacher guides & decodable readers... All ready to go for you! Check them out below ⬇️

Closed Syllable Exceptions Digital Lesson Bundle

Or, if you just want the decodable readers you can get those below ⬇️

Closed Syllable Exceptions Decodable Reader (Fiction)

Closed Syllable Exceptions Decodable Reader (Non-Fiction)