Explore R-Controlled Vowel Sounds

Developing strong phonemic awareness helps students recognize and manipulate sounds in words. An important part of this is understanding that a single sound can be represented by multiple graphemes. Our R-Controlled Vowel Phoneme Spotter Stories offer students an engaging way to explore r-controlled vowel sounds while reading. Each story focuses on a specific r-controlled vowel phoneme—ar, er, or—and the different graphemes that create that sound.

These stories highlight the variety of ways r-controlled vowels appear in words:

• The ‘ar’ sound: On the Farm explores graphemes like a, ar and ai.
• The ‘er’ sound: Bert and the Surf focuses on er, ur and ir.
• The ‘or’ sound: The Fort covers or, aw, oor and ore.

Students actively search for these sounds while reading, helping them connect spelling patterns with pronunciation.

How to Use These Phoneme Spotter Stories

• Individual or small group activity: Provide students with the story. As they read aloud, ask them to highlight, underline, or color the words that contain the target r-controlled vowel sound.
• Whole-class activity: Project the story on a whiteboard and read together. Students can signal when they hear the target sound—by clapping, raising hands, or standing up. After reading, discuss the different graphemes that represent each r-controlled sound.
• Extend learning:Reinforce understanding with interactive games, such as sound-matching activities or digital quizzes, to strengthen the connection between sounds and spelling patterns.

Download and Explore R-Controlled Vowel Sounds Today!

This r-controlled vowel sounds resource is available as an easy-to-print PDF, complete with answer sheets for self-evaluation.

More R-Controlled Vowel Resources

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