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.
er 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.
- fern
- germ
- herd
- perch
- perk
- stern
- term
- verb
Free decodable book: Decodable R-Controlled ER
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 has a fern. Leo has a fern too. They like it.
Leo sat on a perch. Mia sat on a perch too.
Mia and Leo saw a herd. The herd is big.
Leo did not get a germ. Mia did not get a germ too.
Fern term verb perch herd germ stern perk. Mia and Leo like the fern.
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
er (r-controlled)
Read er as in her and fern
Word sort: er, ir, ur (same sound)
Sort words that all say the same r-controlled vowel sound by spelling