If you've spent any time in science of reading circles lately, you've probably noticed something: people don't all agree about syllable division methods.
Some educators teach students to decode using the VC/CV, V/CV, VC/V, and V/V patterns.
Others argue that teaching these patterns takes too much time and that teaching elaborate syllable division taxes working memory.
So who's right? And what do your students actually need to read words like cactus, calendar, and exhausting?
Here's why this is important: if you're spending precious phonics minutes teaching something your students don't need, that's time they could be spending reading. But if you're skipping something they DO need, you're leaving them without a way to attack longer words.
In my newest YouTube video I put the two approaches side by side with real words so you can see exactly what each one looks like, how long it takes, and what it asks of your students. By the end, you'll know which approach makes sense for your classroom.
P.S. Ready to make every minute of your phonics block count? Sign up for my 5-day Invigorate Your Phonics Instruction challenge! Early bird pricing is just $15. Sign up here.
Just a note
We are currently rebranding from The Measured Mom, which was our business name for 13 years.
Because of that, you will still see themeasuredmom.com on many of our resources.
We hope to complete the entire transition by the end of 2026.
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