Practice activity. Syllables and word stress. You remember that words are made up of syllables, individual units of sound or beats in a word. Now let's practice counting syllables. How many syllables do you hear in each of these words? The first word is calendar. Calendar. How many syllables? Yes, calendar has three syllables. Now say the word. Calendar. The next word is winter. Winter. How many syllables? Yes, winter has 2 syllables. Now say the word, winter. The next word is play. Play. How many syllables? Yes, play has one syllable. Now say the word, play. The next word is, responsible. Responsible. How many syllables? Yes, responsible has four syllables. Now say the word, responsible. The last word is volunteer. Volunteer. How many syllables? Yes, volunteer has three syllables. Now say the word, volunteer. Now let's listen to the same words again, and decide which syllable is stressed. That is, which syllable is longer, louder, and higher in pitch, and clearer than the others? When you hear calendar, which syllable is stressed? Yes, calendar is stressed on the first syllable. Now say the word, calendar. When you hear winter, which syllable is stressed? Yes winter is also stressed on the first syllable. Now say the word, winter. When you hear play, there's only one syllable, so the whole word gets the stress. Now say the word, play When you hear responsible, which syllable is stressed? Yes, responsible is stressed on the second syllable. Now say the word, responsible. Finally, when you hear volunteer, which syllable is stressed? Yes, volunteer is stressed on the last syllable. Now, say the word, volunteer. Now let's practice reading a story that has many words with more than one syllable. The stressed syllables are marked. Pay attention to word stress as you repeat each part of the story. Elizabeth and Alexander are archaeologists. They study ancient civilizations. To help them understand what people's lives were like long ago. The food they ate, The furniture they had in their homes, The transportation they used, And the ways they educated their children. Through many conversations with other experts at international conferences, They hope that they can understand the past And use their knowledge to help people improve their lives in the future. Thank you for practicing syllables and word stress with us.