Teaching r-controlled sounds

Kids usually learn r-controlled sounds in first or second grade.

These sounds can cause some confusion during spelling activities. For example, if you have your student spell “card,” he might write: crd. This is a good time to remind your student that every word must contain a vowel.

Thus, if he hears an r-sound and he hasn’t written a vowel (as in crd), he must choose an r-controlled sound. In the word card, he can break the sounds into: c-ar-d. Thus, he can identify the ar phonics sound and change crd to card.

R-controlled sounds include:

ar as in bark

er as in clerk

ir as in swirl

ur as in burn

or as in corn

Include blends with the letter r in your r-controlled reading and spelling lists.

Since kids often struggle to identify when to use just the letter r and when to choose an r-controlled sound, use both word types in your reading and spelling lists. Interleaving, or weaving material together, can help solidify learning into long-term memory. For example, here’s a good r-controlled reading list (this student has recently learned oo as in moon and oo as in book):

1. brand
2. burn
3. hook
4. pray
5. lark
6. cork
7. soon
8. grand
9. dark
10. dress
11. crook
12. choo choo
13. turn
14. root
15. preach
16. book
17. twirl
18. pool
19. thorn
20. fern

The student should read the above words sound-by-sound and then blend them. This list is a good mixed list for a phonics lesson because it mixes old phonics sounds with new (oo, some long vowels, and r-controlled sounds), it includes words with the letter r blend (like preach, brand, pray), and the list is not guessable.

Teaching r-controlled sounds summary:

• teach r-controlled sounds explicitly (just like you would any other phonics sound)
• include words with the letter r blend (ex. pray, preach, track, drive… etc.) in your reading and spelling lists
• use interleaving, meaning mix old phonics sounds with new
• make sure your lists are not guessable

Reading Elephant offers printable phonics books.