4. Videos: See R-Controlled Vowels in the Classroom

DAngela Huggins: So we're going to get ready to do our OG lesson for today. So let's ...

Narrator: Teacher DAngela Huggins is working on the r-controlled vowel sounds /ar/ and /or/ with a small group of first graders. She starts with a review of short vowel sounds.

DAngela Huggins: So let's drill our vowels. So we're going to do only our short vowel sounds. You guys ready? Eyes on me and let's go. We have ...

Students: 'a', apple, /ă/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good ...

Students: 'u', up, /ŭ/ ...

DAngela Huggins: All right ...

Students: 'i', itch, /ĭ/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good. And we have ...

Students: 'o', octopus, /ŏ/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very nice. And we have ...

Students: 'e', Ed, /ĕ/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good. And those are all of our short vowels. And then I brought in our consonant. What consonant is this?

Students: 'r' ...

DAngela Huggins: What's our sound?

Narrator: Now Ms. Huggins will introduce the new spelling pattern, r-controlled vowels. This spelling pattern has many names, including bossy 'r' and vowel-r.

DAngela Huggins: And these are our bossy 'r' cards. So we're only going to focus on the sound of 'or' and 'ar'. So listen to me and then I want you to repeat, okay?

Students: Okay.

DAngela Huggins: All right. We have 'or', horn, /or/ ... your turn ...

Students: 'or', horn, /or/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good. One more time.

Narrator: Ms. Huggins models saying the letters, keyword, and sound. And then she asked the students to repeat what she says.

DAngela Huggins: 'ar', car, /ar/ ... your turn ...

Students: 'ar', car, /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: One more time ...

Students: 'ar', car, /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good. So we're going to be learning about 'r', not just 'r', the bossy 'r'. And show me your bossy stance. Again. The bossy 'r' ... So we're going to do some words today, we're going to do some dictation.

Narrator: Dictation or spelling is an essential component of a phonics lesson. It helps students solidify the sound/letter correspondence they're learning, in this case with the sound /or/ is spelled with 'or' ...

DAngela Huggins: ... our bossy 'r' sound and then we're going to do a sentence. All right, so our first sound, it's a new sound that we learned today. And that first sound is /or/ repeat ...

Students: /or/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Yeah, 'o' and 'r' work together to say /or/, right? So everyone write 'or', /or/. Now let's trace it. We are going to say the letters together. Let's go ...

Ms. Huggins and students: 'or', /or/ ... Let's trace it one more time for us. Charlie.

Narrator: First, students trace over the letters as they say the new sound ...

Ms. Huggins and students: /or/ ...

DAngela Huggins: And then one more time, we have ...

Ms. Huggins and students: 'or', /or/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Good job. All right, so that leads us to our next sound, which is going to be /ar/ ... what is it?

Ms. Huggins and students: /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: /ar/ ... /ar/ ... Blakely. How would we spell /ar/ ...

Blakely: 'ar' ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good ... 'ar'. So everyone, let's write 'ar' .... 'ar'. All right. And we're going to say it. Let's trace it ... 'ar' ... sound again ...

Ms. Huggins and students: 'ar', /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: 'ar', /ar/ ... and then one more time. We have ...

Ms. Huggins and students: 'ar', /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good. Are you ready for some words? All right. We're going to tap our words first. Tap out the sounds and then we're going to write them. So our first word, get your tappers ready, get your tappers ready, is farm. What's the word?

Students: farm ...

DAngela Huggins: "farm" ... let's tap farm ...

Ms. Huggins and students: /f/, /ar/, /m/, farm ...

DAngela Huggins: Let's write "farm." So, can 'r' make the sound all by itself?

Students: Nope.

DAngela Huggins: All right. What does it need help from, Lorelei?

Lorelei: 'a' ...

DAngela Huggins: It needs 'a'. So together, 'ar' says what sound?

Ms. Huggins and students: /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good. Now, how did you spell farm?

Students: 'f', 'a', 'r', 'm' ...

DAngela Huggins: 'f', 'a', 'r', 'm' ... farm ... And what was our bossy 'r', r-controlled vowel?

Students: In the middle of farm ...

DAngela Huggins: Okay. And what is it in the middle of farm?

Charlie: 'ar' ...

DAngela Huggins: 'ar' ... so, let's underline that 'ar' so we remember that 'ar' is what sound?

Students: /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: It's /ar/, right? Ready for our next word? Our next word is going to be short.

Students: short ...

DAngela Huggins: What's the word?

Students: short ...

DAngela Huggins: The word is ...

Ms. Huggins and students: short ...

DAngela Huggins: Let's get our tappers ready. Let's tap it.

Ms. Huggins and students: /sh/, /or/, /t/ ... short ...

DAngela Huggins: Everyone have short? All right, so I want us together ... let's spell short. Let's go ...

Ms. Huggins and students: 's', 'h', 'o', 'r', 't' ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good ... 's', 'h', 'o', 'r', 't' ... short. And up in the middle again, we have our r-controlled 'or' ... so it's under ... and what sound is it?

Ms. Huggins and students: /or/ ...

DAngela Huggins: /or/ ... Very good, it's /or/ .... So, who's ready to do a sentence?

Students: Me, me, me!

DAngela Huggins: Alright, so our sentence is "They will park the car ..."

Students: "They will park the car" ...

DAngela Huggins: "... in the carport."

Students: "... in the carport."

DAngela Huggins: "They will park the car" ...

Students: "They will park the car" ...

DAngela Huggins: "... in the carport."

Students: "... in the carport."

Narrator: Ms. Huggins gives just enough time for her students to write the sentence on their own before reviewing as a group.

DAngela Huggins: Good job. All right, so let's get ready to help me spell this. And is the first one was a trick word, one of our heart words. They ... spell they for me ...

Students: 't', 'h', 'e', 'y' ...

DAngela Huggins: What was the hard part of they? The part we have to know by heart. Felix?

Felix: The 'y' ...

DAngela Huggins: Oh, is it just the 'y'? There's something else with the 'y' ...

Blakely: The 'e' ...

DAngela Huggins: The 'e' and the 'y' together. Charlie, what is 'e' and 'y'? What do they say together?

Charlie: /a/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good, and that's why we call it the heart word because that's the part we had to know by heart. All right, so they "will" ... go ahead ...

Students: 'w', 'i', 'l', 'l' ...

DAngela Huggins: "They will park together" ... Let's make sure I hear all voices. I love all of us talking together when we're spelling back. All right, park ...

Students: 'p', 'a', 'r', 'k' ...

DAngela Huggins: "the" ...

Students: 't', 'h', 'e' ...

DAngela Huggins: "the car" ...

Students: c', 'a', 'r' ...

DAngela Huggins: And then I'll ... all right, carport. Let's see, did we get it? Spell it for me, Charlie.

Charlie: 'c', 'a', 'r', 'p', 'o', 'r', 't' ...

DAngela Huggins: ... 'p', 'o', 'r', 't' ... very good. We learned two bossy 'r's today. We learned ...

Ms. Huggins and students: 'or', /or/ ...

DAngela Huggins: ... and we learned the one that made 'r' really happy ...

Ms. Huggins and students: 'ar', /ar/ ...

DAngela Huggins: Very good. Nice job.

Narrator: Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale, the Hastings/Quillen 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 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.

DAngela Huggins: This is Reading Universe.

Taura Dorsey: Hi everyone.

Students: Hi!

Narrator: At Hope-Hill Elementary in Atlanta, Georgia. Taura Dorsey is leading her first graders through a lesson on what is known as the /er/ triplets: 'er', 'ir', and 'ur'. The triplets are members of the r-controlled or bossy 'r' family. And they're tricky because they all make the same sound. Ms. Dorsey kicks off the lesson by reviewing the bossy 'r' vowels her students already know: 'ar' and 'or'.

Taura Dorsey: What do you know about 'or' and 'ar'? Ellis?

Ellis: They are both bossy 'r'.

Taura Dorsey: Awesome job. Now I'm going to introduce you to some more bossy 'r' family members. Okay? And I'm going to tell you the sounds. Everyone say /er/.

Students: /er/.

Taura Dorsey: /er/.

Students: /er/.

Taura Dorsey: And ... /er/.

Students: /er/.

Taura Dorsey: Have a question ... /er/, /er/, /er/. I need ... Okay, let's see. Think time. Think time. What did you notice? What's similar? Aiden?

Aiden: They all say the same sound.

Taura Dorsey: They all have the same sound. Okay, these are the /er/ triplets. Everyone say "/er/ triplets."

Students: "/er/ triplets."

Narrator: Even though they're spelled differently — 'er', 'ir', and 'ur' — they all make the same /er/ sound like in fern, girl, and curb.

Taura Dorsey: So this is /er/. This is number one. So number one /er/ is what?

Students: 'er'.

Taura Dorsey: Number two /er/ is ...?

Students:'ir'.

Taura Dorsey: And the third /er/ is ...

Students: 'ur'.

Taura Dorsey: Okay.

Narrator: Now it's time for dictation where students get to practice spelling each of the /er/ triplets. First, just the sound and then with words.

Taura Dorsey: All right. Now this is our chance to tap out some words. Are you all ready?

Students: Yes.

Taura Dorsey: Are you ready?

Students: Yes.

Taura Dorsey: So our first word is bird. Everyone echo.

Students: Bird.

Taura Dorsey: Let's go.

Students: /b/, /er/, /d/. Bird.

Narrator: Because students can't hear which triplet to use. Ms. Dorsey gives them the correct spelling ...

Taura Dorsey: 'ir' everyone.

Narrator: And plenty of opportunities to practice until it becomes automatic.

Taura Dorsey: Which /er/ triplet did we say?

Student: 'ir'.

Taura Dorsey: Awesome. Yes. So write it over.

Student: B-I-R-D.

Taura Dorsey: Awesome. Thank you. The next word is turn. Everyone say turn.

Students: Turn.

Taura Dorsey: What word is it?

Students: Turn.

Taura Dorsey: Let's tap it out.

together:
/t/, /er/, /n/. Turn.

Taura Dorsey: 'ur' everyone. 'ur'. Let's see if you can write it. Go. All right. Who wants to spell turn for me? Who wants to spell turn? Go ahead, Ellis.

Students: T-U-R-N.

Taura Dorsey: Awesome job. Kiss your brain.

Narrator: Writing words in isolation is not enough If we want to help these students become strong writers. So Ms. Dorsey moves on to dictating phrases.

Taura Dorsey: Here's your phrase. "Got a sunburn." Let me help you out with that /er/ triplet. It is 'ur'. Everyone say 'ur'.

Students: 'ur'.

Taura Dorsey: Did you write it?

Students: Yes. Yes.

Taura Dorsey: Oh, look at this. This is amazing.

Narrator: Ms. Dorsey wraps up the lesson by going back and having students read everything they wrote, starting with just the sounds. This routine is quick and simple, but provides meaningful practice to reinforce their learning.

Taura Dorsey: Everyone flip it back over. So we're going to go over our sounds and our words. Let's say the sounds. So the first one is what?

Students: 'er'. /er/.

Taura Dorsey: Let's do the second one.

Students: 'ir'. /er/.

Taura Dorsey: And the third one.

Students: 'ur'. /er/.

Taura Dorsey: And what are those called? The what?

Students: The /er/ triplets.

Taura Dorsey: The /er/ triplets. All right, put your finger on the first word. What is that first word?

Students: Bird.

Taura Dorsey: Bird. Let's spell it. Go.

together: B-I-R-D.

Taura Dorsey: What's the word?

Students: Bird.

Taura Dorsey: All right, let's do the second word. Are you ready? Go.

Students: Turn.

Taura Dorsey: Spell it.

Students:
T-U-R-N. Turn.

Taura Dorsey: All right. Celeste, read that one phrase for us. Go.

Celeste: "Got a sunburn."

Taura Dorsey: All right. Thank you Celeste. Everybody. On the count of three, I want you to kiss your brain. Ready? 1, 2, 3.

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 Hope-Hill Elementary, 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.

Taura Dorsey: My name is Taura Dorsey, and this is Reading Universe.

Antonio Fierro: Let's use the build-the-word strategy with a vowel-r pattern. The word is born. I was born in the month of August. What's the word? Born. You say it: born. Let's see how many phonemes or sounds are in the word born. /b/, /or/, /n/. Again: /b/, /or/, /n/. There are three phonemes, so I need three lines: /b/, /or/, /n/. The first phoneme or sound in the word born is /b/. All right. What's the grapheme? 'b'. This is the one that's tricky. This sound here is /or/. Here is my vowel and here is my 'r', my vowel-r. And the final phoneme in the word born is /n/. What about the grapheme? It's the letter 'n' or the grapheme 'n'. All right. Let's spell that: 'b', 'o', 'r', 'n', born.

Morgan Walton: These are the motions we use to help students remember r-controlled vowel sounds ... /ar/, arm; /er/, bird; /or/, horn.