How to Effectively Teach Bossy R Words (R-Controlled Vowels)

What are Bossy R Words?

R-Controlled Vowels are often referred to as the “Bossy R”  because the r bosses the vowel to change its sound. The vowel and the r usually stay in the same syllable. Since my youngest needs a little extra practice with these Bossy R words, I decided to create some NO PREP packets to help master these words in a FUN way!  These packets have a wide variety of activities to allow you to differentiate your students’ needs to help them thoroughly master the Bossy R words.

Why teach this phonics skill?

R-Controlled Vowel words can be a challenge for kids to sound out and spell. It is important for students to learn about r-controlled sounds and to be able to recognize them so they can read and spell more complex words.  Often, students who have not mastered r-controlled vowels mispronounce and misspell these words.  For example, if a student were to read the word cord, he or she may read the o as a short o sound and separate it from the r sound, making the word sound like card instead of cord. Also, when spelling the word cord, they may try to add a silent e or a vowel team to make a long o sound, like cored or coard.  Once students have learned and mastered this phonics skill, they should be able to read and write most r-controlled vowel words correctly.

How are the Packets Organized?

The bundle covers the ar, or, er, ir and ur vowel sounds. There are three packets in the bundle: ar words, or words and er, ir and ur words together. When introducing/teaching the er, ir and ur sounds, it is important to note that these last three r-controlled vowels all make the /er/ sound. Since students cannot know which spelling is correct just by the sound itself, they need practice. When student see the words in a variety of ways and in different formats, they begin to “see” and memorize which option goes with each word.

Let’s take a look at some of the packet “in action”…

There are 3 packets in the Bundle include the ar, or and er, ir, ur packets.

 FREE Posters!

In order to help your students build fluency with these tricky words, I have some FREE Bossy R Posters for you!  Click HERE to grab them!

I like to print full-size posters for the wall and the mini version to put on a binder ring so that students can have it at their desks or at a word work center.

To print mini versions:

1. Open your file in Adobe Reader

2. Hit File…Print…Select MULTIPLE and change the pages per sheet to 4. Be sure to select the pages that you want to print. For this FREEBIE, you will want to select pages 5-9

You can also use this method to print out other mini versions of posters!

I hope you enjoy this freebie and this phonics packet! Grab the Bundle (HERE).

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