Six Syllable Types Graphic-Organizer & Note-taking Guide

The study of syllables is a foundational component of the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching reading. In O-G methodology, CLOVER is the mnemonic used to remember the six syllable types:

C closed syllable
L consonant + le syllable
O open syllable
V vowel team syllable
E magic or silent E syllable
R r-controlled syllable

Page 1 of the download is a completed organizer to be used as a reference guide for the tutor. The completed chart provides all the information for each syllable type, including the name of the syllable, the definition, the code used to label the syllable type when dividing words into syllables, and what sound the vowel makes.

I provide page 2 this graphic organizer (copied on a bright color) for each student to use as the first page of their language notebook for O-G reading and writing. As students learn each syllable type, the student pastes the definition into the chart for each syllable type.

For older students, I may use page 3, which is a chart clear of all contents except CLOVER. The student writes the name of the syllable in the first empty column, glues the definition in the middle column, writes the syllable’s code in the next column, and names the vowel sound in the last column. Page 4 provides the definitions the student will need to cut and paste onto the chart.

This organizer has been very helpful for me as I teach students to read and identify all six syllable types.

Helpful Hint: I teach the syllable types in a different order than the mnemonic CLOVER:

1. closed
2. magic e
3. consonant +le
4. open
5. r-controlled
6. vowel team.