Are you struggling to help your young learners master Bossy-R words?
Fear not! We’re here to share some insider tips and tricks that will unlock the secrets of Bossy-R, this tricky phonics rule and at the bottom of this article, you will get an amazing sorting game Freebie that I created for my students and share with you.
Whether your students are just starting out or need a little extra support, our expert advice will have them rolling their R’s like pros in no time. So sit back, relax, and get ready to discover the ultimate guide for conquering Bossy-R!
Introduction to Bossy-R
You’ve taught your students about short vowel sounds and how to represent them. You’ve taught your students about long vowel sounds and how to represent them. Have you, however, taught the R Controlled Vowels?
In this blog, I will discuss effective methods for teaching the R Controlled Vowels.
An ‘R Controlled’ vowel is one that is immediately followed by the letter ‘r’ and cannot be pronounced as either a long or short vowel.
What Are the R-Controlled Vowel Sounds?
The R Controlled Vowels sounds are as follows:
The ‘r’ after the vowel distorts the typical vowel sound, creating a new vowel sound (also known as a ‘growl vowel’).
R Controlled words make for approximately 10% of one-syllable words. In certain phonics programs, the letter ‘r’ is referred to as ‘Bossy R’ to help students understand the massive impact this consonant has on the vowels that come before it.
Teaching the R-Controlled Vowels
Begin with ‘ar’
With systematic phonics teaching, you move from simple to complex representations and from the most common to the least common. We use /ar/ to introduce what occurs when ‘r’ is in charge because it is the most often used R Controlled Vowel sound and has only one representation.
Make use of the ‘Compare and Contrast’ strategy.
Read CVC words containing short ‘a’, such as ‘can,’ ‘cat,’ ‘cab,’ and ‘cap’ to your students. Explain to the kids that the consonant ‘r‘ changes the sound of the vowel immediately preceding it, and then read the word ‘car’ to them. Continue with various CVC words, asking students to read the word with ‘ar‘ (a worksheet for this is included in our ‘ar‘ worksheet bundle below).
The Effective Substitution Strategy
Read ‘cat,’ then replace the ‘a’ with ‘ar,’ and read ‘cart’ (a worksheet for this is included in our bundle!) Read ‘had’, then substitute the ‘a’ with ‘ar’ and read ‘hard’. Continue the process till the kids grasp the concept.
Suggestions for Teaching
One of the six types of syllables is an R-Controlled Syllable. Students should read two-syllable words containing the letter ‘ar‘ exclusively in the first syllable. ‘ar-my,’ ‘par-ty,’ ‘car-go,’ etc. At this time, DO NOT offer the pupils words with ‘ar’ in the second syllable (I’ll explain why later).
When it comes to counting the number of sounds in a word, ‘ar‘ only counts as one sound, /ar/. You can assist pupils who are having difficulty remembering this by employing sound buttons for sound counting. As an example:
The ‘ar’ is emphasized to show the reader that it is a digraph – two letters representing one sound.
Once the students have mastered the reading of ‘ar‘ words, you can go on to the spelling of these words. Beginning spellers frequently misspell the letter ‘r‘ by itself for /ar/. This is an error in letter name and sound. Teach them explicitly that the letter name for ‘r‘ is pronounced /ar/, but this is not the sound it represents. The sound represented by the letter ‘r‘ is similar to that of a puppy barking, /r/, as in ‘red’ and ‘ran’. Remind students of the mnemonic ‘R in charge’ – the letter ‘r‘ must be in charge of a vowel when representing /ar/, therefore the vowel ‘a’ must come before the ‘r‘ when writing /ar/.
R Controlled Vowels Hands-On Activities
One of the ways to help students learn about bossy r sounds is through a hands-on activity. A sorting game is an excellent way to engage students and help them identify the different bossy r sounds. In this article, we will discuss how to create a sorting game for kindergarten or elementary students.
Another helpful tip is to use lots of visual aids when teaching Bossy-R. This can include anything from flashcards and posters to games and songs. Anything that will help students remember what Bossy-R looks like and how it sounds will be beneficial.
Get the downloadable R-controlled vowel sorting game at the bottom of this page. Freebie
- Make a game out of it! Write down a list of words that have the Bossy-R sound in them (e.g., bird, first, third) on small slips of paper. Put them in a jar or cup, and have your child draw one out and read it aloud. If they can read the word correctly, they get a point. The person with the most points at the end wins the game!
- Use manipulatives. Create a simple sentence with words that contain the Bossy-R sound (e.g., The bird is on the first step.), and write it on a sheet of paper or whiteboard. Then, provide manipulatives such as toy animals or blocks to act out the scene described in the sentence. This will help your child visualize and understand the meaning of the words.
- Get creative with art! Draw a picture of something that has the Bossy-R sound in its name (e.g., a bird, car, skirt, nurse).
Sorting Game Activity
Sorting games are a great way to help young learners understand the concept of Bossy-R. In this activity, students will sort objects into groups -ar, -er, -ir, -or, -ur
Additional Activities with R-Controlled Vowels:
- Word building with magnetic letters, letter tiles, Wikki Stix, and other materials. You may use Elkonin Boxes For Reading Intervention
- Writing words 30+ Bossy R Controlled Vowel Words List. or sentences. Can pick from Fry Instant Phrases For Improving Reading Fluency
- R- controller Bingo and other similar games
- R-controlled vowels posters
As educators and parents of young learners, we hope this article has been helpful in understanding the features and providing tips on how to use Bossy-R efficiently.
