Systematic Phonics/Syllable types

There are six different types of syllables in the English language.

Closed: ends in a consonant, has a short vowel sound
Open: does not end in a consonant, has a long vowel sound
Vowel-consonant-"E": The final "e" is silent and makes next vowel before it long.
Diphthong: two vowels next to each other that together create a new sound and Vowel team: two pronounced vowels next to each other
Consonant-"LE":
Power-"R": a syllable where a vowel is followed by the letter "r". The "r" takes control of the vowel and changes the way that it is pronounced.

Schwa: This can end in a consonant or not, and is an unemphasized syllable whose vowel is somewhat swallowed and pronounced like "uh". Other syllable types can be reclassified as a schwa based on experience of how a word is regionally pronounced.

In a dictionary, the schwa sound is written like an upside-down, lower case "e".

Long and short vowels

Long vowels are the same sound as the name of the vowel, "a", "e", "i", "o", and "u".

Short vowels are the hardest vowel sounds to pronounce in English. "ah" as in cat, "eh" as in pet, "ih" as in sit, "oo" as in not, "uh" as in nut.