Teaching Bossy 'R' with the Alphabet Queen

Carla Miller: There is another consonant that was very jealous of the vowels and wanted to be in that pen. 'R'. It was the letter 'r'.

Narrator: Today, instructional coach Dr. Carla Miller is using the story of the Alphabet Queen to teach our students about the different syllable types. Watch as she shows them how the letter 'r' earned its bossy reputation.

Carla Miller: And he would sometimes go in that fence and he would pinch the vowels and kick the vowels and shake the vowels. He was not a nice letter. He was very bossy. What does it mean to be bossy? Let's see. We're going to go right there to Evan.

Evan: To tell everyone what to do.

Carla Miller: To tell everyone what to do. He would tell all these vowels what to do. So he would go and he would stand right next to the vowel. And he said, a', you're not going to say /ā/, you're going to say /ar/. What sound does he make?

Students: /ar/.

Carla Miller: Good. And then he would go, stand right next to the 'e'. And he said, 'e', you're not going to make your short or long sound either. You're going to say, /er/. What did he say?

Students: /er/.

Carla Miller: And then he would stand next to that 'o'. He said, nope. You're not going to say /ŏ/ today. You're going to say, /or/. What are you going to say?

Students: /or/.

Carla Miller: Good. Then he'd stand next to the 'i' and he would say, you know what? You're going to say /er/. What sound?

Students: /er/.

Carla Miller: Good? And he stood next to the 'u' and he said, you're also going to say ...

Together: /er/.

Carla Miller: So when we see bossy 'r' in a word, let me show you. What's my vowel? What's my vowel? Just you can tell me.

Students: 'A'.

Carla Miller: 'A' is my vowel right? And usually if we see that there is a consonant there closing in my vowel, usually I think the vowel is going to be what? I think it's going to be short, right? But I have to remember that bossy, bossy 'r' that loves to sneak there, sneak into the pen and stand right next to the vowels. I have to remember that. And I have to remember when he goes and he pinches that 'a', she no longer says, /ă/. She now says ... 

Students: /ar/. 

Carla Miller: So read this word for me.

Students: Car.

Carla Miller: Car. So remember, when we are looking at words and looking for patterns in words, we have to think about that bossy 'r' so that we are able to pronounce our vowel the correct way.

Narrator: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim and Donna Barksdale, the Hastings/Quillin Fund, an advised fund of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the AFT, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and anonymous donors. Special thanks to Burgess-Peterson Academy, Reading is Essential for All People, and Atlanta Public Schools. If you enjoyed this video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUteaching. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington D.C., the Barksdale Reading Institute and First Book.

Carla Miller: I'm Dr. Carla Miller, and this is Reading Universe.