R-Controlled Vowels: ar, or, er
Learn r-controlled vowels ar, or and er, where r changes the vowel sound, as in car, fork and her. A phonics lesson for ages 5-7 with fun games.
Key takeaways
- The letter r can change a vowel's sound
- ar says 'ar', or says 'or', er says 'er'
- We call it the bossy r because r is in charge
When r is the boss
The letter r is a little bossy! When r comes right after a vowel, it changes the way that vowel sounds. We call this an r-controlled vowel, or the bossy r.
Today we meet ar, or and er.
The ar sound — says "ar"
- car = car 🚗
- star = star ⭐
- farm = farm 🚜
The or sound — says "or"
- fork = fork 🍴
- corn = corn 🌽
- horse = horse 🐴
The er sound — says "er"
- her = her 👩
- finger = finger 👆
- tiger = tiger 🐯
A little word list
Read these bossy r words out loud:
- car 🚗
- star ⭐
- fork 🍴
- corn 🌽
- her 👩
- tiger 🐯
Try the games below to build bossy r words!
The bossy r is different from a long vowel sound, where the vowel says its name. Keep practising by blending sounds into words.
Quick quiz
Test yourself and earn XP
What sound do you hear in 'car'?
Car has the ar sound, where bossy r changes the a.
Which word has the or sound?
Fork has the or sound.
Why do we call it the bossy r?
The r is bossy because it changes the sound of the vowel in front of it.
Play & learn
Bossy r cards +5 XP
Completed ✓ +5 XP
Build the bossy r words +10 XP
Completed ✓ +10 XP
FAQ
It is a vowel followed by r, where the r changes the vowel's sound, like ar in car.
Because the r takes charge and bosses the vowel, changing how it sounds in words like car, fork and her.
Keep exploring
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