B. Foundations of Language · Reading Words: Sounds, Patterns and MeaningBossy r: ar, or, er, ir, ur, air, are, ear
B2.1 B2.2About 40 minutes
Learning goals- I can read ar, or and ore words like car, fork and store.
- I can read er, ir and ur, which all say /er/.
- I can read air, are and ear that say /air/ (chair, care, bear), and ear and eer that say /ear/ (hear, deer).
- I can read words where or or ar at the end says /er/, like doctor and dollar.
Words to know
r-controlled vowel
A vowel followed by r, where the r changes the vowel's sound. Also called bossy r.
/er/ sound
The sound in her, bird and fur.
/air/ sound
The sound in chair, care and bear.
/ear/ sound
The sound in ear, hear and deer.
Remember from Grade 1
When r comes right after a vowel, it is bossy: it changes the vowel's sound.
- ar says /ar/: car 🚗, farm
- or says /or/: fork 🍴, corn 🌽
- er, ir, ur all say /er/: her, bird 🐦, turtle 🐢
In Grade 2 you will meet more bossy r teams.
| Sound | Spellings | Words |
|---|
| /ar/ | ar | star ⭐, park, barn, March |
| /or/ | or, ore, oar | storm, more, store, board, roar |
| /er/ | er, ir, ur, (w)or | fern, girl, burn, nurse, work, worm |
| /air/ | air, are, ear | chair 🪑, hair, care, share, bear 🐻, pear 🍐 |
| /ear/ | ear, eer | ear 👂, hear, year, deer 🦌, cheer |
Worked exampleLet's read an /air/ word
- squ says /skw/.
- are is a bossy r team that says /air/.
- Blend: /s/ /k/ /w/ /air/.
square ⬛: a shape with four equal sides.
The tricky team: ear
ear can say two sounds:
- /ear/: ear, hear, near, year, clear, beard
- /air/: bear, pear, wear, tear (to rip)
Try /ear/ first, then /air/. Check the meaning! (And in learn, earth and early, ear says /er/!)
When w comes before or
When w comes right before or, the or usually says /er/:
work, worm, word, world, worse.
Read worm: /w/ /er/ /m/. It rhymes with germ!
ar and or at the end of a longer word
In a longer word, ar or or at the end often says /er/:
- dollar, collar, sugar, cellar
- doctor, sailor, actor, tractor, visitor
They sound just like the end of teacher!
Worked exampleLet's read a word with or at the end
- Split it into two parts: trac + tor.
- trac: /t/ /r/ /a/ /k/. Short a.
- tor at the end of a longer word: /ter/.
- Put it together: trac-ter.
tractor 🚜: a farm machine. The or sounds like /er/.
Just for funWhy do pirates love bossy r? 🏴☠️
Because ar says their favourite word: Arrr!
Hands-on activityBossy r treasure hunt
You need: paper, a pencil and a clipboard or book to write on.
- Make 5 columns: ar, or/ore, er/ir/ur, air/are/ear, ear/eer.
- Walk around your home and look for things with bossy r: chair, jar, fork, shirt, stairs, carpet, computer, corner, earmuffs...
- Write each word in the right column. (Some words fit in two columns, like corner: it has or and er.)
- Read your list to a grown-up.
What to look for: reading the r team as one sound, not "a-r".
Your turn
worm: after w, or says /er/.
7Read: The bear sat on a chair in the park.
"The bear sat on a chair in the park." bear (ear = /air/), chair (air), park (ar).
More practice: on your own
1Read her, bird and turn. What do er, ir and ur have in common?
They all say /er/. Three different spellings, one sound.
2Read: share and shark. Are the vowel sounds the same?
No. share has /air/ (are). shark has /ar/ (ar).
3Read: doctor and dollar. What sound do or and ar make at the end?
Both say /er/ at the end of these longer words: doct-er, doll-er.
4Read: pear and year. Does ear make the same sound?
No. pear says /air/; year says /ear/. Use meaning to choose.
5Read: The nurse wore a purple shirt.
"The nurse wore a purple shirt." nurse (ur), wore (ore), purple (ur), shirt (ir). All bossy r!
Challenge
1Read: She will tear the paper. A tear ran down his cheek. How do you say each tear?
First tear (to rip) says /t/ /air/. Second tear (from your eye) says /t/ /ear/. The sentence tells you which.
2Read: world and word. Why doesn't or say /or/ here?
When w comes before or, the or usually says /er/: w-er-ld, w-er-d.
3Read: The sailor scored more points in the board game.
"The sailor scored more points in the board game." sailor (or = /er/ at the end), scored and more (ore = /or/), board (oar = /or/).
Quiz
1. Which word has the /er/ sound?
2. Which team says /air/ in care?
3. In which word does ear say /air/?
4. What does or say at the end of doctor?
5. Which word rhymes with germ?
6. Which word has the /or/ sound?
Big idea: r-controlled vowels are a big part of Grade 2 decoding (B2.1). Students add the /air/ spellings (air, are, ear), /ear/ (ear, eer), wor = /wer/, and -ar/-or = /er/ at the end of longer words (dollar, doctor), using position and letter context to decide on a sound (B2.2).
How to help at home:
- Point out that er, ir, ur sound the same. Make a three-column list of words you find.
- For words like tear, bow and read, talk about how the sentence decides the sound.
- The treasure hunt can be repeated on a walk (signs: park, store, corner, parking).
Common difficulties:
- Saying the vowel and r separately ("c-a-r" as /k/ /a/ /r/). Teach the team as one chunk.
- Spelling er, ir and ur. Reading them is easy (they all say /er/); choosing the right spelling is harder and is practised in the writing unit.
- ear words: model trying both sounds.