R-controlled vowels (ar, or) decodable sentences and word list
42 words with a vowel followed by r, which changes its sound, as in car and fork, and 10 sentences a child can sound out. Project them, or print the sheet.
R-controlled vowels (ar, or): a vowel followed by r, which changes its sound, as in car and fork. 42 words.
- car
- far
- jar
- bar
- star
- farm
- barn
- yard
- park
- dark
- card
- cart
- hard
- arm
- art
- shark
- start
- sharp
- mark
- harm
- charm
- or
- for
- corn
- fork
- horn
- born
- port
- sort
- storm
- short
- sport
- north
- cord
- form
- fort
- torn
- pork
- stork
- cork
- thorn
- porch
Tricky words used so far, read by sight: a, the, is, has, to, I, my, he, she, we, me, be, go, so, no.
About this pattern
When a vowel is followed by r, the r changes the sound; it is neither long nor short. Ar says /ar/ as in car, and or says /or/ as in fork. Teachers call them r-controlled or bossy r vowels. This list is only ar and or, the two most regular. Er, ir and ur all say the same sound and come next.
What to say
Show the pair as one unit: ar, as in the sound a pirate makes, and or, as in the word for. Ask children to say a word with and without the r: cat and car, cot and cord.
How to use it
- Start in Word list: say the pattern, then read the words together with the coloured letters as your clue.
- Press Full screen (F), choose Sentences, one at a time, and use the arrow keys for the next sentence.
- Press Print for a sheet with the words and the numbered sentences to take home.
Ideas for class
- Sort word cards into ar and or with a picture on each pile: a car and a fork.
- Play Pirate Talk: say every ar word in a pirate voice.
- Make a farm scene and label it with ar and or words: barn, farm, corn, fork.
- Have students find the r-controlled word in each sentence and circle it.
Related
Questions
Why leave out words like war and work?
Ar and or after a w change their sound (war, work, word), so they are taught later as exceptions.
What comes after ar and or?
Er, ir and ur, which all say the same sound (her, bird, turn), then the other vowel teams such as oo, ou, ow and oi.
How do I know each sentence is decodable?
Every word in these 10 sentences is either on the word list for r-controlled vowels (ar, or) or for a pattern taught before it, or is one of the tricky words read by sight (a, the, is, has, to, I, my, he, she, we, me, be, go, so, no). The list is checked by a program, so a word that has not been taught cannot slip in.
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