LumiraWhat is an r-controlled vowel?
When a vowel is followed by r, the r changes the vowel sound entirely — it is neither long nor short. These are sometimes called bossy-r vowels, and they need to be taught as their own category rather than as vowel-plus-r.
ar words (r-controlled vowel) — word list
Every word below appears in the decodable book on this page, so a reader who practises the list will meet the same words again in context.
- are
- arm
- barn
- car
- card
- dark
- farm
- hard
- park
- shark
- smart
- star
- start
- yard
Free decodable book: Decodable R-Controlled AR
This is an original Lumira decodable reader, written so that a child can sound out nearly every word using patterns they have already been taught. The full text is below — read it here, or open it in the app to read it together with the words highlighting as you speak.
Mia had a car. Leo had a car too. They like it.
Leo can start the car. Mia can start the car too.
Mia and Leo are at the farm. The farm has a barn.
Leo saw a shark. Mia saw a shark too. They like it.
Mia and Leo sat in the yard. It is dark in the yard.
Leo is smart. Mia is smart too. Mia and Leo are smart.
Car star farm hard park dark shark smart yard card start arm.
How to teach it
- Say the sound on its own first, several times, before showing any letters.
- Show the spelling and name it explicitly — tell the reader what it says rather than asking them to work it out.
- Blend two or three words from the list together, out loud, slowly.
- Read the decodable book above, where the pattern repeats in real sentences.
- Come back to it two or three days later. Cumulative review is what makes it stick.
Lessons that practise this pattern
ar (r-controlled)
Read ar as in car and star — the r changes the vowel sound