What type of syllable pattern is characterized by a vowel followed by a single consonant?

The syllable pattern characterized by a vowel followed by a single consonant is known as a closed syllable. In a closed syllable, the vowel is followed by one or more consonants, which "close" the syllable and typically lead to a short vowel sound. For instance, in the word "cat," the vowel 'a' is followed by the consonant 't,' making it a closed syllable with a short vowel sound.

Understanding the closed syllable is vital in reading instruction because it helps learners decode and pronounce words correctly. In contrast, an open syllable would end with a vowel that is typically long, like in "he," while the Magic E pattern involves a silent 'e' at the end of a word that changes the preceding vowel to a long sound, such as in "make." Consonant-le patterns often appear at the end of multisyllabic words and consist of a consonant followed by 'le', as in "table." Each of these patterns has its specific characteristics, but the closed syllable directly corresponds to the described vowel-consonant structure.