So far, I have covered R, E, O, C in the REVLOC system of breaking down words to provide rules for easier word pronunciation. Next, comes the L, which stands for Consonant + LE syllable types.
This type of syllable ALWAYS appears at the END of words. The E (the vowel in this type of syllable) is ALWAYS silent. Dictionaries may represent this syllable pronunciation as /b’l/ (to indicate the silence of the e).
Examples of consonant + le syllables:
ble able notice the split: a ble – a is an open syllable so it’s long, ble is cons. + le
dle cradle Split: cra (open), dle (cons. + le)
fle stifle Split: sti (open), fle (cons. + le)
gle bugle Split: bu (open), gle (cons. + le)
kle tinkle Spit: tin (closed, but altered by the “ink”), kle (cons. + le)
tle little Split: lit (closed), tle (cons. + le) – notice that if there was only one t, the i would be long.
zle sizzle Split: siz (closed), zle (cons. + le)
ple maple Split: ma (open), ple (cons. + le)
Here are examples of words that use the consonant + le.
Type 1 – middle consonant doubled, this makes only one sound in the middle:
Cuddle (it’s not cud, dle for the pronunciation, but if you only had one d, the u would be long)
Kettle
Fiddle
Paddle
Brittle
Smuggle
Topple
Type 2 – consonant you can hear (unlike the previous, you can hear the consonant before the cons. + le syllable here):
Shingle (“ing” alters the sound of the i in this closed syllable)
Purple
Handle
Gentle
Crumple
Type 3 – ck in the middle:
It appears that the break would be, frec, kle. But, when you have a letter combination like ck, it’s a digraph, and blends and digraphs stay together in word breakdowns. So, technically, it’s freck (k)le. Honestly, as long as the person doing the word breaking can pronounce the word at the end of the split, then the word can be broken up any way you want.
But keeping the “ck” together, means a person would not try to pronounce the c AND the k. They are a digraph, which means that they are two letters together making one sound. Other digraphs are ch, tch, sh, th, wh.
Crackle
Fickle
Trickle
Pickle
Cockle
Type 4 – open syllable with ble:
Ladle
Noble
Fable
Bible
Rifle
Title
Bugle
Sentences for dictation – always have student read back, aloud, what (s)he has written.
The table was brittle.
His freckles made him humble.
The title of the puzzle made her giggle.
He was gentle with the cattle.
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