Looking for videos of exemplary classroom instruction? Subscribe to the Reading Universe YouTube channel.

  • Blends Skill Explainer

Quick Look: ‘r’ Blends

At Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta, first-grade teacher Princess Watts-Blount reviews beginning blends that include an ‘r’, like ‘cr-‘ and ‘fr-’. Students make sure to pronounce the sound for each letter in the blend during this warm-up activity. Our Blends Skill Explainer has everything you need to know to teach beginning and ending blends.

Video thumbnail for Quick Look: ‘r’ Blends
Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book
Hide Video Transcript Show Video Transcript

Princess Watts-Blount: All right. Now we're going to move on to our deck drill. Remember, with beginning blends, I want you to name each letter and then give me each individual sound. Okay? All right. Let's go.

Students: 'C', 'r', /k/, /r/. 'F', 'r', /k/, /r/.

Princess Watts-Blount: Let's try this one again.

Students: 'F', 'r', /f/, /er/.

Princess Watts-Blount: Now remember, I think I'm hearing /er/, remember the sound for 'r' is /r/. Okay. Let's try it again.

Ms. Watts-Blount and students: 'F', 'r', /f/, /r/.

Princess Watts-Blount: Nice.

Speaker 4: 'G', 'r', /g/, /r/. 'B', 'r', /b/, /r/. 'P', 'r', /p/, /r/. 'C', 'r', /k/, /r/.

Princess Watts-Blount: All right. Great job.

Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (opens in new window); the AFT (opens in new window); the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation (opens in new window); and three anonymous donors.

AFT Education Healthcare Public Services