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Speaking Topic

The SLP's Guide to Reading Multisyllabic Words

Format
3 hours or 1.5 hours
Presented by
Lauren Kline, M.S., CCC-SLP, A/OGA, C-SLDI
Audience
SLPs and literacy specialists working in speech and reading

Course Abstract

Big words are where a lot of readers fall apart. A student who decodes single syllable words with confidence hits a wall at "fantastic" or "consideration," and the strategies that worked before stop working. The fix is not more sounding out. It is teaching students how words are built.

This course gives you the structural backbone for reading multisyllabic words: syllable types and syllable division. We will work through how syllables behave, why division strategies make long words manageable, and how to teach this so clearly that students stop guessing and start reading with intention. Morphology is part of that picture too, and we will bring it in where it supports the syllable work, because the way words break apart and the way they carry meaning are connected.

I teach this from the intersection of speech and literacy, where I spend my days. Syllable work lives in both worlds, the way a word sounds and the way it is read, and the clinician or educator who can hold both builds stronger readers. Whether you are working in a therapy session or a structured literacy lesson, you will leave able to teach multisyllabic reading with clarity and a plan.

This is the science of reading through the SLP lens.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

  1. 1. Identify and describe the syllable types in English and explain how each behaves in reading and spelling.
  2. 2. Apply syllable division strategies to accurately and confidently decode multisyllabic words.
  3. 3. Teach syllable work explicitly and clearly, so students move from guessing to intentional reading.
  4. 4. Recognize how morphological awareness supports syllable work and contributes to reading multisyllabic words.
  5. 5. Integrate syllable instruction into therapy sessions and structured literacy lessons for readers who struggle with longer words.

Course Plan

Where Readers Hit the Wall

  • ● Why multisyllabic words trip up otherwise capable readers
  • ● The limits of sounding out
  • ● Reframing big words as structures to understand rather than guess

Syllable Types

  • ● The syllable types and how each behaves
  • ● Why type matters for the vowel sound
  • ● Teaching the types so they stick

Syllable Division

  • ● Division strategies that make long words manageable
  • ● Working through real multisyllabic examples
  • ● Common sticking points and how to teach around them

How Morphology Supports the Work

  • ● Where word structure and word meaning connect
  • ● Using morphological awareness to support reading longer words
  • ● Keeping the focus on reinforcing the syllable work

Teaching It Clearly

  • ● Explicit instruction for syllable work
  • ● Moving students from rules to fluent application
  • ● Adapting for the speech and literacy goals in front of you

Putting It Together

  • ● Working through multisyllabic instruction start to finish
  • ● Q and A and application

Bring this session to your team

Available as a 3-hour or 1.5-hour training, and adaptable to your audience and goals.

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