How to Teach R Controlled Vowels
After your students have mastered CVC words, consonant blends, and CVCe words, they’re ready to learn how to read and spell words with r-controlled vowels. Sometimes called “bossy r,” r-controlled vowels consist of a vowel and then the letter r. The r changes the vowel’s sound. The r-controlled vowels are ar, or, ir, ur, and er.
As a special education teacher, I find that introducing one or two r-controlled vowels a week works well. I usually teach ar first, followed by or, and then ir. I teach ur and er together since they make the same sound and there aren’t very many one syllable words with these vowels. If you’re teaching general education, you may find that you’re able to progress more quickly. I follow the same general phonics lesson plan each week, which is easier for both you and your students. In this post, I’ll use ar for the examples and explain how I would teach words with are over the course of one week. You can follow the same structure when teaching other r-controlled vowels.
Day 1
Tell students that when the letter comes after a vowel, it changes the vowel sound. When r comes after the letter a, it sounds like /ar/. Show a picture of a car and say /c/ /ar/. Show or write the word car, and explain that we spell the sound /ar/ ar. After modeling, lead students in guided practice of reading more words with ar. Then, practice reading fluency sentences together that contain words with ar and other mastered word types. You can find the needed picture cards, word cards, and fluency sentences in my Phonics by Design R-Controlled Vowels Unit.
Day 2
Briefly review what you taught yesterday, and then tell students they’ll be practicing writing words with /ar/ today. Show a picture card with an ar word, such as star. Model segmenting the word (/s/ /t/ /ar/) and then writing each corresponding letter to write the word on the board or chart paper. Continue with other picture cards, having students segment the sounds as a group or taking turns. Finally, have students practice on their own by dictating words to them and having them write them down. You can also dictate a few short sentences that include only r-controlled vowels and mastered word types (sight words, CVC words, etc.)
Day 3
Today students will independently practice reading and writing words with the r-controlled vowel ar. I use the activity sheets included in my Phonics by Design R-Controlled Vowels Unit and in my No Prep Pack.
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Day 4
Review reading and spelling words with ar before introducing a simple matching game they can play in pairs. Spread out the cards in a grid face down. When it’s their turn, the student will turn over two cards and identify the pictures and/or read the words. If it’s a match, they keep the pair. If not, they put the cards back, face down. Students alternate turns until all pairs have been matched. The student with the most pairs wins. You can find r-controlled vowel matching games in my Phonics by Design R-Controlled Vowels Unit.
Day 5
Assess students by dictating ten words with ar and having them record them. If you have time and a small enough group, you may also wish to have individual students read a few words with ch and sh for you as well.
This lesson plan schedule for teaching consonant r-controlled vowels is simple but effective!
Save yourself time by snagging everything you need to teach r-controlled vowels in one place with my Phonics by Design R-Controlled Vowels Unit Bundle. You’ll get all the materials mentioned in this post for each r-controlled vowel (lesson plans, picture cards, word cards, fluency sentences, activity sheets, matching game), plus posters, flapbooks, and more! Snag it here.
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