Bossy R Crossword

Teach ar and or first, then er, ir and ur together, since those three share one sound. Have your child read each word aloud before writing it. Check the written pages with the answer key.

Name bossy r pictures like spider, hammer and guitar and write them in a picture crossword. An r-controlled vowel has an r after it. The r changes the vowel sound, so we call it bossy r. The directions on the page read: Say the name of each picture. Then, find the word in the word bank. Then, write it in the puzzle, one letter in each box. An answer key is included.

Yes, both. We made it for 1st Grade phonics, and the page works the same whether it lands on a kitchen table or a center rotation. At home, most families go through it together and talk the answers out loud, and that talking is where most of the learning happens with r-controlled vowels. In class it runs well as independent work while you pull a small group. Print one copy or thirty, whichever the day needs.

It is a vowel followed by r, where the r changes the vowel sound. The a in car does not sound like the a in cat. Children often call it bossy r, because the r bosses the vowel.

All three spell the sound in her, bird and fur. Children learn to read all three, and the pick the spelling page helps them remember which one a word uses, like skirt with ir and turkey with ur.

Read the word, then point to the vowel and the r together and say them as one sound, like ar in car. Sorting by sound, as on the ar or or picture page, helps children hear the difference before spelling.

The read and draw page has no key, since children draw their own pictures. The other new bossy r sheets have an answer key.

First graders learn long vowel patterns (CVCe like 'make'), common vowel teams (ai, ea, oa), consonant digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh), and r-controlled vowels (ar, or, er). Per CCSS RF.1.3, they should decode regularly spelled one-syllable words and read words with inflectional endings.

Most first grade programs expect students to read 100-200 high-frequency sight words by year end. These include common words that do not follow standard phonics rules (the, was, said, could). Daily practice with sight word worksheets and reading builds automatic recognition.