You may notice some discrepancies when determining where to divide words.
One of the most interesting problems in developing the SIPPS® program was where to make the syllable divisions, as dictionary splits for writing often differ from splits for pronunciation (ham.mer vs. hamm.er). We decided to use the dictionary writing divisions because they were more likely to match those in other resource materials. However, note that consistency is lacking among dictionaries and even within dictionaries about writing divisions.
Challenge instruction helps students efficiently break apart words, arriving at an approximate pronunciation they can match to a word they already know in their listening vocabulary. As such, strict rule-following is less important than informed, flexible strategy application.
Here are two key principles to guide your instruction:
- Approximate pronunciation is the goal. English word patterns are highly variable, so there is no single, simple procedure for decoding polysyllabic words. In Challenge, instruction supports students in arriving at a tentative, approximate pronunciation that they can then match to a word in their listening vocabulary.
- Prioritize meaningful word parts. Reading Entire Words is the students’ opportunity to develop flexibility in applying their knowledge of division patterns, sight syllables, and open and closed syllables. As such, students are first prompted to identify any irregular suffixes at the end of the word before applying patterns (How many consonants between the vowels?) to divide the rest of the word. Because -ive is an irregular sight syllable, the t in attractive naturally stays with the root tract. This follows for cook.ie, bal.loon.ist, and fool.ish where the recommended syllabication in the manual keeps the meaningful roots intact. Rather than viewing these as exceptions to a rule, we are teaching students to prioritize meaningful word parts (e.g., fool+ish, balloon+ist) to efficiently divide and read complex words.