R-controlled vowel worksheets — 5 free printables

Five free printable phonics worksheets covering all five r-controlled vowel patterns: ar, or, ur, ir, er. Each is a single page with three activities — find-and-circle, read aloud, and tracing.

R-controlled vowels are sometimes called "bossy r" sounds because the r changes how the vowel sounds. Knowing them is essential for reading any text past the beginner level — they appear in car, fork, turn, bird, her, and dozens of everyday words.

What's an r-controlled vowel?

When a vowel is followed by the letter r, the r changes the vowel sound. The vowel doesn't say its short sound or its long name — it says a new, r-influenced sound:

• a + r = /ar/ (car, star, park)
• o + r = /or/ (fork, born, sport)
• u + r = /er/ (turn, burn, curl)
• i + r = /er/ (bird, girl, first)
• e + r = /er/ (her, fern, mother)

Notice that ur, ir, er all make the same /er/ sound. They're three different spellings for one sound — kids have to learn each spelling word by word.

This concept is the kind of thing that makes English spelling feel weird. But the pattern itself (vowel + r = r-influenced sound) is reliable. Once a child internalizes it, they can read r-controlled words on sight.

The 5 worksheets

ar phonics worksheet — as in car

The /ar/ sound. Like a pirate's "arr!" — kids find this one easy to remember.

Words: car, star, jar, park, farm, shark, arm, hard, card.

Position: after a consonant, in the middle or end of a word.

or phonics worksheet — as in fork

The /or/ sound. Like in fork and storm.

Words: fork, corn, horn, born, fort, sort, short, storm, morning.

Position: after a consonant, in the middle or end of a word.

ur phonics worksheet — as in turn

The /er/ sound spelled ur. Same sound as ir and er — turn, bird, and her all rhyme.

Words: turn, curl, burn, fur, hurt, church, burst, surf, nurse.

Position: after a consonant, in the middle of a word.

ir phonics worksheet — as in bird

The /er/ sound spelled ir. Same as ur and er.

Words: bird, girl, first, shirt, dirt, sir, stir, fir, third.

Position: after a consonant, in the middle of a word.

er phonics worksheet — as in her

The /er/ sound spelled er. Same as ur and ir. Often appears at the end of two-syllable words (mother, water, butter, river).

Words: her, fern, mother, water, butter, river, sister, finger, winter.

Position: middle or end of a word; very common at the end of two-syllable words.

What's on each worksheet

Every r-controlled vowel worksheet follows the same structure:

Activity 1 — Find and circle. Twelve words shown in a grid; the child circles the words with the r-controlled pattern.

Activity 2 — Read aloud. Five featured words, each with a colorable dot beneath. The child reads and colors.

Activity 3 — Trace. Six traces across the page — first solid, the rest light gray. Dotted separators.

Parent note. A small note explaining the pattern, with teaching notes for the trickier ones (the three /er/ spellings sharing one sound).

How to teach r-controlled vowels

R-controlled vowels are typically taught in Year 1 / 1st Grade and Year 2 / 2nd Grade, after CVC and basic digraphs are solid. A reasonable order:

1. ar first. Distinct sound, easy to remember (pirate "arr!"). Common in everyday words.
2. or next. Same teaching method, second clearly-distinct r-controlled sound.
3. ur, ir, er together. Teach all three at once with the framing: "these three spellings all make the same /er/ sound." That single insight saves weeks of confusion.

The key teaching technique for ur/ir/er: rhyme demonstrations. Read turn, bird, her together and ask which two rhyme. Then realize all three do. The child sees that English has three ways to spell one sound, which is annoying but easier than learning three different sounds.

When to use these worksheets

Use these worksheets if:

• Your child reads CVC words confidently
• They've worked through magic e and basic digraphs
• They're meeting r-controlled words in their reading
• They're 6-8 years old

Skip these worksheets if:

• Your child is still learning individual letter sounds
• They haven't yet met magic e — work through the Magic E Pack first

Related resources

Part of the free phonics worksheets library — the Phase 5 collection.

Companion materials:

• Long vowel phonics worksheets — vowel digraphs and trigraphs
• Consonant digraph phonics worksheets — sh, ch, th, ng
• Phonics blends worksheets — consonant blends

Earlier-stage materials:

• Magic 7 Phonics Flashcards
• CVC Word Pack
• Magic E Pack

Common questions

Why do ur, ir, and er all sound the same?

History. The three spellings come from different language sources (Old English, Old Norse, Latin) and originally had slightly different sounds. Over centuries, the sounds merged into one /er/ but the spellings stayed separate. English does this a lot.

How does my child know which spelling to use?

There's no perfect rule. ur is most common in single-syllable words (turn, burn, fur). er is most common at the end of two-syllable words (mother, water, sister). ir is somewhere in between (bird, girl, first). Most kids learn the spellings word by word through reading exposure.

Are these worksheets really free?

Yes. All 5 are free for personal, classroom, and tutor use.

My child reads "car" with a long a sound — what's wrong?

Nothing's wrong, they just don't know the ar pattern yet. Teach it as a unit: cover the rest of the word, point at ar, say /ar/ (pirate voice). Then reveal: c-ar, car. A few sessions and it sticks.