Phonics pattern

R-controlled vowels

When a vowel is followed by r, the r changes the vowel's sound: ar as in car, or as in fork, and er, ir and ur, which all say /er/. Reading them is fairly quick to learn; spelling /er/ takes longer because there are three choices.

Spellings: ar, or, er, ir, ur

How to teach it

Teach each r-controlled vowel as one unit with its own sound, on one card, starting with ar and or before the three spellings of /er/.
Read lists by spelling, then mixed lists, and contrast with the short vowel (cat, cart; fit, first) so the student sees the r.
Dictate words. For /er/, accept any of the three spellings at first, then teach the most common spellings for the words you use most.

Practice words

Read them across, then down. Point under each word as it is read.

arm
cart
bark
star
part
charm
short
sport
more
store
shore
chore

Decodable sentences

Bart has a cart full of corn.
The dog barks at the stars.
Mark and Kurt surf at the shore.

Spoken warm-ups

No print. Say the prompt; the student answers aloud. Sounds are written between slashes.

Spoken warm-ups for R-controlled vowels
You say	The student says
Listen: /k/ /ar/ /t/. What word?	cart
Say ‘fork’. Say each sound.	/f/ /or/ /k/
Say ‘bark’. Change /b/ to /p/. What word?	park

Common errors

Reading the vowel short and then the r (car as /k/ /ă/ /r/). Keep the vowel and r together on one card.
Spelling /er/ with the wrong letters (bird as burd). This is normal for a long time; check the meaning of the word, not the logic of the spelling.
Confusing ar and or in reading. Contrast them in spoken pairs (farm, form).

Which lessons teach this

If you teach UFLI Foundations, this pattern comes up in these 10 lessons. Teach from your own manual.

Literacy Trail is an independent tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the University of Florida Literacy Institute. It contains no UFLI lesson content, only lesson names and order.

Questions people ask

Are these words from an assessment?

No. The practice words, sentences and warm-ups here are written for teaching and are kept separate from the words in the Literacy Trail assessments, so practicing never teaches the test.

When is a student ready for r-controlled vowels?

When they read and spell the pattern before it (open syllables) accurately and without prompting, most of the time. Keep reviewing earlier patterns for two minutes a session while the new one settles.

How long should practice take?

A few minutes a day beats one long session a week. Read the word list once or twice, dictate three or four words, and read a sentence or two. Rate how it went and bring the pattern back on a short schedule if it is shaky.

Plan sessions for this pattern automatically

Start the 15-day free trial and add a student. When they reach r-controlled vowels, Literacy Trail plans the sessions for it automatically, and a Needs support or Developing rating brings it back for review.

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