R-controlled Vowels: ar and or

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

• How many sounds do you hear in the word car?

The word car has two sounds: /c/ and /ar/. The vowel sound in the word car does not make a sound that you would expect an a to make.

The letter r is a bossy letter. When r is paired with a, it makes the sound of a pirate: “Arr!”

Say out loud the sound that ar makes in the word car.

Then, watch the video below to practice reading words with the /ar/ sound.

Now, read the following words with the /ar/ sound.

If you have trouble reading the words, say each sound of the word. Start at the beginning of the word. Remember to say, “arr,” when you see the letters a and r next to each other.

Look at the word horn.

• How many sounds do you hear in horn?

There are four letters in the word horn, but there are only three sounds in the word: /h/ /or/ and /n/.

In this word, the letter r is once again bossy. The r controls the sound the o makes. It makes the /or/ sound.

Sing and clap along with the song in the video below to practice words with the /or/ sound.

Now, read the following words with the /or/ sound.

Look at the words more and store. When you are writing words with the /or/ sound at the end of a word, you need to add an e to the end of the word, like in the word core.

Move on to the Got It? section to practice more words with the /or/ and /ar/ sounds.