Year 1R-controlled vowels
er words
The letters e and r can work together to make the /er/ sound.
At the end of many words, the letters e and r work together to make the /uh/ (schwa) sound.
er/er/ as in fern
Words with er
Tap a word to see its sounds and hear it.
er in the middle
er at the end
Read er in a sentence.
Every sentence is checked against the sound.
- 1Her fern is green.
- 2The spider is under water.
- 3Her herd ran off.
- 4My sister ate her dinner.
How to teach er
stressed er er
- Introduce the r-controlled digraph. Explain that the letter r changes the way the vowel sounds.
- Model saying the target phoneme three times.
- Students repeat.
- Check articulation and correct mouth placement.
- Identify the phoneme in the example words.
- Explain that the r-controlled digraph er can also represent the schwa /uh/ sound in unstressed syllables (e.g. finger, paper, teacher).
uh sound er
- Introduce the alternative phoneme for the r-controlled digraph er, /uh/.
- Model saying the target phoneme three times.
- Students repeat.
- Check articulation and correct mouth placement.
- Identify the phoneme in the example words.
Decodable stories with er.
From the Phonicspal library. Sign up free to read them.
Make a whole er lesson.
Slides, words and sentences, matched to the sounds your class has learned.