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Free SLP Initial R Materials, Games, Activities, Flashcards, and more!

Initial r virtual games and activities, freeslp offers tons of virtual slp materials for the r sound. to help target the r sound in the initial, medial, and final positions, we have created r tic-tac-toe, connect 4, virtual flashcards, virtual progression cards, battleship, spot-it, candy land, soccer, painting, and more to view our all free r sound virtual games and materials, click below:, initial r sound games and activities link.

Downloadable Initial R Materials

We also have tons of free no-prep downloadable r sound materials. r sound printables that we currently have include: r flashcards, qr code scavenger hunt, progression cards, spot-it, word finds, tic-tac-toe, bingo, candy land, connect 4, battleship and more if you're looking for more engaging ways to teach the r sound, hopefully you find these materials helpful to view our all free r sound virtual games and materials, click below:, initial r no-prep downloadables.

Initial R Sound Animated Videos

Animated videos for each sound teaching how to produce the sound as well as animated articulation adventures for each sound adventure across safaris, space, the world of minecraft, and more while teaching your child how to make awesome r sounds to view our all free r animated videos, click the link below:.

Initial R Artic Hierarchy Activities

Virtual materials to target r from the isolation level all the way up to the conversational level whether you're targeting sounds at the word, phrase, sentence, paragraph, story, or conversational levels, we have free and engaging speech therapy materials for each to view our all free r hierarchy activities, click below:.

Initial R Filterable Flashcards

Over 1,000+ flashcards that you can sort by target sound, position of sound, syllables, blends, and more add words to your custom word list and print out the flashcards to view our all free r sound virtual games and materials, click below:, initial r filterable flashcards.

Initial R sound overview page

What age should my kid be able to say the r sound.

Children typically are able to correctly produce the R sound around 5 years old.

Is the R sound a voiced sound?

Yes, the R sound is a voiced sound.

Is the R sound a liquid sound?

Yes the R sound  is a liquid sound.

How do I make the R sound?

How  to make the “r” sound:.

There are two ways that we can make the “r” sound.

• The retroflexed “r” which means we bring our tongue tip up towards the top of our mouth.
• The humped “r”which means we place the tip of our tongue on our lower gums behind the bottom teeth.  By doing so, the back of the tongue “humps” up

To find out which technique is best for the child, have them say target words from our flashcards targeting the different types of “r” listed above.  The first time, have the child say the words with a retroflexed tongue.  The second time, have the child used a humped tongue.  Each child is different, so try both and use whatever one sounds better / they feel most comfortable with.

Retroflexed “r”

• Have the child pucker their lips slightly and hold them there.
• Tell the child to make the back of their tongue flat and make it tight/strong.
• Raise the tip of the tongue towards the top of the mouth, but not touching it, and curl the tip of it backwards slightly.
• Turn  on  the voice (voice is the rumbling in your vocal folds.  Have your child/client place their hand on their/your neck during the production of “s” and “r”, and have them feel the difference between the two.  In the production of “s”, there should be no rumble or voicing.  While in the production of “r”, there should be a rumbling or voicing.)
• Release the air out over the tongue.
• Raise the back of the tongue towards the top of the mouth.
• Point the tip of the tongue towards the lower gums behind the bottom teeth.

Tricks and Tips for producing the “r” sound:

• Challenge the child to see who can make the best bear growl “Rrrrrrrrr!”
•   For the humped “r”, press the tongue tip down with the tongue depressor and typically the back portion of the tongue with hump up on its own.
• For the retroflexed “r”, place the tongue depressor under the tip of the tongue and raise it towards the top of the mouth.  When you raise the tongue tip, the tongue should naturally rise and curl backwards.

60 Initial (Prevocalic) R Words

50 medial r words, 50 final r words, what is a prevocalic r.

Prevocalic “r” words  are words where the “r” is produced at the beginning of the word in front of the vowels and include words like: road, red, run

What is a Postvocalic R?

Postvocalic “r” words  are words where “r” is produced after a vowel.  Post vocalic “r” often gives children the most issues because the vowel proceeding the “r” requires the articulators (tongue, lips, teeth, jaw, etc.) to be in different positions. To demonstrate this, look in a mirror or a camera and see how different your lips look while saying “ear” vs “or”.  Because of the placement required for the vowel, when saying a word like “ear” your articulators need to move fast to satisfy the placements for the “e” and then move quickly back to satisfy the placement of the “er”. Types of postvocalic r include: ar : artifact, farm, star or:  Orca, born, core er:  Earth, bird, mother ire:  iron, fireman, tire air:  airplane, fairy, hair ear:  earwax, beard, deer

R Sound Overview

If you are looking for tips and tricks on how to produce the perfect R sounds; click the link below:

Virtual Materials for Each Level of Artic Practice:

Target the R sound at the isolation level with 3 different activities: Isolation Animation, Pop the Bubbles, and Click the Button!

Target R at the syllable level with our virtual flashcards!

We have three activities for targeting R at the word level: 1.) Classic flashcards with initial, medial, final, and mixed sets. 2.) Minimal Pair Sliders 3.) Name the Photos (Have the computer give you feedback on your sound productions!)

R phrase flashcards with sets targeting R in the initial, medial, final, and mixed positions!

Target R at the sentence level with our rotating sentences activity!

Our R story is full of R target sounds and tongue twisters! Read it yourself or play it out loud and then repeat it back!

We have two ways to target R at the conversation level: 1.) Silly story scenes full of R target words. 2.) Conversation starter questions.

R Virtual Materials

List of All the Free R Sound Virtual Activities and Games

R flashcards, r progression cards, r soccer shootout, r escape from dragon's dungeon, r fish's flight to freedom, r witch's brew, r summer sundae dash, r fall apple quest, r halloween candy chompers, r thanksgiving treats, r cupid's valentines candies, r marshmallows' mad dash, r unicorn artic derby, r train track dash, r space race, r flashlight finder, r feed the bear, r pumpkin carving, r build-a-snowman, r thanksgiving dinner, r tic-tac-toe, r candy land, r connect 4, r battleship, r artic ninja, r volt runner, r artic clicker, r pizza jumper, r artic cruiser, r space invaders, r spot the differences, r treasure hunt, r crossword, r word find 1, r word find 2.

R Boom Cards

List of All the Free R Sound Downloadable and Printable and Games

R artic qr scavenger hunt, r artic progression cards, r artic spot the match, initial artic r flashcards, medial artic r flashcard, final artic r flashcards, r articulation carrier phrases, r articulation word find, r articulationtic-tac-toe, r articulation coloring sheet, r cartoon character flashcards, r articulation dice, r articulation flipbook, r artic bingo, r artic candyland, r artic cariboo cards, r artic battleship, r articulation connect 4.

R Downloadables

Free no-prep, virtual, and downloadable options available!

Free SLP articulation word lists, flashcards with pictures, downloadable PDFs and more!

Materials target the R sound in the initial, medial, and final positions!

Whether you are looking for printable, no-prep, or virtual materials, FreeSLP offers free R sound activities for students of every level!

We hope these R articulation activities and exercises for speech therapy help your child / student learn how to make s sounds!

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Teaching the R Sound in Speech Therapy

Teaching the R sound in speech therapy can be stressful for a speech therapist. Children with speech sound disorders may have difficulty with saying r words. In this blog post, I’m sharing a simple, 5-step strategy SLPs can use to teach the r sound successfully and without frustration. Many students with articulation disorders have difficulty producing the R sound. Older students who have been in speech therapy for years may be feeling frustrated. Luckily, there are many elicitation techniques that can be successfully used to treat R sound errors in speech therapy! Speech pathologists interested in teaching the R sound should make sure to bookmark this post for future reference. Trying different things can really change this game when treating this tricky sound!

This post contains affiliate links, which means we could receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended.

Different Types of R

When Speech Pathologists are working on the “R” sound, specific errors need to be identified. There are many different positions of a word that R can occur in. R can occur in the initial position, medial position, and final positions of words. R can be influenced by vowels, and are known as “vocalic R” sounds (examples: art, orange, car). It can also occur in blends (r blend examples include princess, friend, and grape). It is helpful to figure out specifically which R the student can and cannot say. Christine Ristuccia has developed a very helpful screening form, The Entire World of R. This is a great way to gather baseline information.

Common R Sound Errors

Many students with articulation disorders have a hard time producing a correct R sound. R sound errors can occur for initial r, medial r, and final r sounds. These sound errors can occur in isolation, at the word level, in phrases, at the sentence level, and in conversation. It isn’t uncommon that R and vocalic R sounds are the last sounds left to target in speech therapy.

Perhaps that’s why the R sound has the bad reputation of being a “pesky sound”.

• Oftentimes in younger children, the w sound is substituted for the R sound. An example might be “wabbit” for “rabbit”. Minimal pairs might be useful in this situation.
• Occasionally, students might substitute l for r (for example, “light” for “right”).
• R might also be substituted by a “y” sound (an example would be “ram” vs “yam”).
• Other R speech sounds might lose their “R” quality and sound more like a vowel sound. “ER” might be placed by a neutral schwa, for example.

A licensed speech-language pathologist can listen carefully to distinguish which r sound errors a student might be making.

References: Bauman-Waengler, J.A.  Articulatory and Phonological Impairments: A Clinical Focus . Third ed., Pearson Education Limited, 2013. 

Additionally, students may have difficulty with r blends. For example, in the word “frog”, a w might be substituted for an r (fwog).

Proper Tongue Placement

There are different ways to produce R . This is why it is helpful to establish what type of R sound a student will be most successful with during articulation therapy.

When teaching tongue position, it is helpful to use a visual cue paired with a tactile cue.

The retracted r is also called the bunched r. The tip of the tongue is retracted and the tongue is “bunched” and “lifted” toward the pharynx. In simplified language, it is “bunched up” and “pulled back”.

A retroflex R involves the tip of the tongue being raised to the roof of the mouth, specifically to the alveolar region. The rest of the tongue is essentially flattened.

Research, Videos, and CEU Courses

A speech language pathologist often reviews research-based articles and takes continuing education. Here are some recommended articles, videos, and CEU courses:

• R Techniques and Intervention to Correct R- Seven Steps, From Basics to Habituation – a CEU course by Sandra Holtzman, M.S., CCC-SLP, COM, QOM
• Successful R Therapy – a CEU course by Pam Marshalla
• How To Treat R – this is a youtube video I created to share my favorite tips and tricks!

Recommended R Materials for SLPs

There are some materials I like to have on hand when teaching the R sound. Here is a short list:

• Tongue depressor : a tongue depressor is a wonderful way to assist with tongue placement and positioning.
• A mirror : the use of a mirror allows my students to make sure they are not moving their jaw too much while producing the R sound.
• Comprehensive R Program

Some SLPs have found success using speech buddies . These include placement guides for producing sounds like R and S.

5 Simple Steps for Teaching the R Sound in Speech Therapy

Teaching the R sound in  speech therapy  doesn’t need to be so frustrating! Following this 5-step strategic process, which utilizes the foundational skills of orofacial myology, has been an absolute game-changer for me. I know it will be for you, too.

I always explain to my students the importance of being able to move the tongue without moving the jaw (or lips). These are orofacial myology basics. We need precise, controlled motor movements of the articulators. One thing I have noticed time and time again with my R students is the lateral shifting of the jaw when they try to say “er” in isolation. Others tend to jut the chin forward. Use a mirror and bite blocks to draw awareness to this. With a bite block or stacked tongue depressors , we work on tasks such as moving the tongue tip from one corner of the lips to the other, while focusing on only moving the tongue.

The first place I start is establishing the “er” sound in isolation . This is based off of  Sandra’s Holtzman’s R: Techniques and Interventions  ceu course, which was a game-changer for me. If you’re looking to take an amazing CEU course for treating R, look no further. You can establish “er” using either a  bunched r or a retroflexed r  tongue shape. How To Teach Bunched R (Retracted R): For a bunched R,  I like to use my arms to explain the spread and lift of the tongue . When my student says “uh” instead of “er”, I say, “Try that again. You dropped the sides of the tongue.” I hold my arms out in front of me (hands clasped together), and visually show them “raised sides” vs “flat sides” using my elbows. You can also use a tongue depressor to facilitate tongue movement and gently lift the tongue up and back. It may take a few tries, but this can also help elicit the correct production of er. Finally, I will also use my hand as a reminder to lift and pull the back of the tongue for the bunched R. How to Teach The Retroflex R I like to use my hand as a visual cue to teach the retroflex R, with the palm flat and upward, and the tips of my fingers pointing up. An older approach you might try is starting from the L sound, then having the student trace the tongue back along the roof of their mouth. This can assist with sound production for ER.

After your student can successfully say ER in isolation, you can move on to the next step! This involves practicing the “er” sound in lots of sounds and blend combinations (in both real and nonsense words). This step ensures that your student understands how to control, shape, and place the tongue, in a variety of contexts . For example, you would pair “er” with bilabial sounds (erber) in nonsense word combinations. Later, you would cycle back and practice bilabials again in the final position of words (Decem…ber).

You can use a strong foundation in “ER” to shape the other vocalic r sounds when working on R in speech therapy. You will slowly blend “er” into the other vowels or sounds, then try it again at a faster pace. For example, to say “RL” as in “girl”, we say “ER + L” (errrrrr…..L). To say “AR” as in art, we say “AH + ER”. ER is the foundation for all other R sounds.

And finally, to elicit the initial R, we can use our “ER” sound (“ERrrrrain…. rain). If you would like a great resource with ready-to-go worksheets and words that utilize this approach for treating R in your speech therapy sessions, be sure to check out my  Correct that R  resource on TpT.

Other things to consider when treating R in speech therapy

There are some other considerations to keep in mind when working on R.

Some of your students may have been in speech therapy for a long time. Trying a fresh new approach might be just what your student needs to see success. This R program incorporates foundational orofacial myology techniques and has allowed me to be highly successful with correcting R sound errors in speech therapy.

A speech pathologist can try wording things differently to describe how the parts of the tongue move and position while producing the target sound.

Also, remember that patience is key . When working on R in speech, I have spent up to two months trying to get “ER” in isolation. It takes focus and a lot of hard work!

Remind your students that their tongue is a muscle . That means they can control it, shape it, and move it.

Try using auditory discrimination. Read R word lists that target a specific sound to your R kids! It can help a little bit to learn to not only say the difference but also to hear the difference.

Some students need to consider lip placement . Sometimes retracting the lips (smiling!) while saying R can help eliminate W in the initial position of words (i.e. “wabbit” for “rabbit”).

Go-To Resources to Teach the R Sound in Speech Therapy

Need a go-to resource that will help you teach the R sound?

Although R can make SLPs feel frustrated to teach, there is good news. Hundreds of speech-language pathologists have trusted this R program, which is based on research, and have seen huge results. It involves a systematic, comprehensive approach that ensures success. It provides several visual supports, and ready-to-go worksheets and activities.

Jessica G, SLP, said, “I’m so grateful for this resource !!!! Targeting “r” was like my worst nightmare and when students weren’t making progress I felt so discouraged and did not know what else I could do to improve accuracy. Thanks to Karen and this amazing resource, I actually get excited to treat “r” now. The approach used actually works and my students finally seem to understand tongue positioning better (and maybe I do too!). This is definitely worth buying! Thank you!”

Watch this youtube video to learn even more about how to use this resource and approach to treating R.

In summary, it is very possible to successfully teach the R sound in speech therapy! You- and your student- can have great success with this sound! SLPs can teach either the bunched R or retroflex R in therapy. Starting with vocalic ER in isolation is useful before attempting to try to teach other vocalic R sounds.

• My go-to resource for teaching the R sound
• Try a new way of treat R- check out my favorite CEU course
• Here are my favorite tools for helping to teach the R sound: tongue depressors and a mirror

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Comprehensive Vocalic R Words List for Speech Therapy

While one of the most common sounds in the English language, the vocalic /r/ can be challenging to pronounce. 

This can be because it’s hard to understand what is happening with the mouth when it’s pronounced, it requires better muscle control and appears alongside vowels, requiring additional articulation skills. 

If your child struggles with this sound, they may substitute the /r/ sound with /w/, saying ‘fair-wee’ instead of ‘fairy’ or ‘here-wo’ instead of ‘hero’. As a result, they can appear younger than their peers and struggle to communicate effectively. 

In this article, we’ll be focusing on the /vocalic /r/ sound and sharing a list of /r/ words, phrases, and sentences that you can use in home speech therapy or as a resource to support your professional speech therapy practice. 

You’ll also learn which fun games and activities can provide extra practice, discover how to pronounce the sound effectively, and how the patented Forbrain headset can help. 

Word list: Vocalic /r/ word list 

Improving your child’s pronunciation of the vocalic /r/ sound at home can feel like a daunting task because of the many variations of this sound. 

However, if you can help them understand where this sound appears in real-life language and give them plenty of varied practice, you will soon see a difference. 

To help you out, we’ve created a comprehensive list of the most common vocalic /r/ sounds used in English. This includes words where this sound appears in the middle (medial vocalic /r/) or end (final vocalic /r/) of the word. 

Use this list as an easy reference or encourage your child to read through them for extra practice. 

What is the vocalic /r/ sound?

Before we introduce the list of words, let’s take a quick look at what this sound is. 

The vocalic /r/ sound is a type of /r/ that happens when the letter appears after one of the vowels; a, e, i, o, and u. 

For example, the /r/ at the beginning of the word ‘ripe’ is pronounced differently from the /r/ that appears at the end of the word ‘pour’. 

There are six of these combinations in English:

• [-ar] as in the word STAR
• [-er] as in the word GIRL
• [-air] as in the word FAIRY
• [-ear] as in the word FEAR 
• [-or] as in the word SWORD
• [-ire] as in the word FIRE 

Further vocalic /r/ sound practice using short phrases and sentences

Your child should now be able to pronounce the vocalic /r/ sound in isolation, even if it does take a certain amount of effort and focus. The key to actually mastering this sound is to provide them with plenty of practice, using the word lists we provided above and then moving on to short phrases and eventually sentences. 

By doing so, their fluency will significantly improve, they’ll grow in confidence and they’ll also learn how to use their new skills to communicate effectively in a variety of contexts. 

Here’s a short home speech therapy program to help you do exactly this, recommended by the team of experts at Forbrain. 

• Check that your child is articulating the vocalic /r/ sound correctly by working through the wordlist we shared earlier. If not, repeat the articulation exercises until they are reasonably comfortable. 
• Next, use carrier phrases to encourage them to use these words in real-life contexts. 
• Practice using short phrases and sentences for the vocalic /r/ sound. 
• Play child-friendly games and activities and read with your child
• Perfect their skills using our easy-to-use, scientifically proven Forbrain headset.

Carrier phrases

If you want to help your child use these vocalic /r/ words in everyday contexts and get plenty of practice, carrier phrases should be your go-to- speech therapy tool. Just choose a phrase, insert a vocalic /r/ word then practice saying it aloud. 

Considering that there are six variations of the vocalic /r/ sound, we recommend that you practice with at least three words from each category in the word list. 

Here are some of our favorite carrier phrases: 

• “I found a…”
• “I want a…”
• “He found a…”
• “She found a…”
• “I have a…”
• “He has a…”
• “She has a…”
• “I like to…”
• “He likes to…”

Put into practice, it looks like this:

• “I want POPCORN”
• “I like VAMPIRES
• “She has a SPIDER”
• “I see a MARBLE”
• “I found a STAR” 
• “He has CEREAL” 

Short phrases for the vocalic /r/ sound

Keep reading to find useful short phrases that include the vocalic /r/ sound in the middle or the end of the word. 

Use these with your child for extra practice and you’ll help them further improve their pronunciation of the /r/ sound. 

Short sentences for the vocalic /r/ sound

Let’s now take it up a level and start practicing those longer sentences that help further boost confidence, and fluency, and help your child use this sound comfortably in real-world contexts. 

As before, these include the vocalic /r/ sound in the middle and the end of the word. 

Games & Activities with Vocalic /r/ Sound Words 

The best way to learn anything is to make it fun! That’s why playing games and activities with your child is an excellent way to master those tricky speech sounds. 

By doing so, they’ll also grow in confidence and be more likely to want to keep practicing the vocalic /r/ sound. 

Below are some excellent vocalic /r/ sound games and activities that are sure to tick all the boxes and are ideal for use with the patented Forbrain headset.

Play the Roar! Game

The easiest way to practice that vocalic /r/ sound is to encourage your child to roar like a lion.  If you can, find a fun picture of a lion and together, produce an exaggerated /r/ sound then repeat as many times as you like. 

Play the Pretty Parrot Game

This game encourages your child to repeat the sound that they hear. Find a picture of a parrot or even a stuffed toy then place it in front of you. Next, print the list of vocalic /r/ words and cut them out so they become flashcards. 

Hold the cards in your hand and ask your child to pull one from the stack. If your child can’t read the word yet, read it for them and then encourage them to repeat it after you. Every time they get the word right, give them a small reward. 

Play the Lucky Dip Game

If you have the resources available, playing the Lucky Dip game can be a fun way to reinforce their learning and encourage accurate pronunciation. 

Find a box or basket and fill it with items that include the vocalic /r/ sound (check the word list above for ideas), or find free images online and print them out. 

Then cover the box or basket and encourage your child to put their hand inside and pull out an item or picture. When they pull an item or image, encourage them to name it, using the carrier phrase, “ I found a [insert word] ”. 

There’s perhaps no better way to improve overall language skills, spark your child’s imagination and strengthen your parent-child bond than reading a good book with your child. 

Find books that include the vocalic /r/ sound and you’ll reinforce the home speech therapy you’ve been doing and have fun at the same time. 

Read the books in our recommended vocalic /r/ sound list and encourage your child to repeat every /r/ word you come across for the best effect. 

• Scaredy Squirrel by Melanie Watt
• We’re Going On A Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen
• Are You My Mother by P.D. Eastman
• Clark The Shark by Bruce Hale
• Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson

How to Pronounce the Vocalic /r/ Sounds

Understanding the difference between the ‘normal’ /r/ sound and the vocalic /r/ sound can be tricky because they often appear to be the same sound. 

However, to teach others how to articulate this sound correctly, we need to start by checking what happens with our mouth, airflow, tongue position, teeth alignment, and vocal cords beforehand. 

The vocalic /r/ sound is a voiced sound made primarily by lifting your tongue back and up allowing it to move towards the roof of your mouth. Then the air should pass from your lungs, and over your tongue while you allow your vocal cords to vibrate. 

Here is more specific guidance. 

Pronouncing the vocalic /r/ sound 

Let’s choose one of the words we shared in the /r/ word list above such as ‘dark’ then practice saying it aloud, repeating it several times. 

As you do so, pay close attention to the shape of your mouth and lips, where your tongue is positioned, how the air flows from your lungs, and whether your vocal cords are vibrating or not.

You’ll see that your vocal cords are indeed vibrating, your tongue is pulled back and towards the roof of your mouth, your lips are slightly rounded and the air passes through your mouth and lightly over your tongue. 

Additionally, you’ll see just why it can be so hard for children to articulate this sound. Not only do they need to have excellent control over their tongue position, lips, and airflow but it’s very difficult to see how the sound is made from the outside. 

Despite this fact, most children can master this sound anywhere between three and nine years of age after they have mastered the ‘normal’ /r/ sound. If problems do occur, it’s usually because it’s difficult to transition from these vowel sounds to the /r/, and with practice, it can soon be fixed. 

Work through the vocalic /r/ sound list, phrases, sentences, games, and activities, read together, and use the patented Forbrain headset and your child will get the practice they need and have fun doing it. 

How to help your child produce the vocalic /r/ sound correctly

Ready to help your child get to grips with the vocalic /r/ sound? Follow these steps:

1) Ask your child to relax their tongue. You can encourage them to stick it out as far as they can and wiggle it around like a snake, ask them to blow a whistle, or try touching their nose with their tongue. 

2) Then ask them to find the back of their tongue and ask them to lift it to the roof of their mouth. You can tell them to imagine they are catching a fairy with their tongue if they need extra encouragement. 

3) Finally, ask them to push air from their lungs and use their vocal cords to say the word ‘fairy’. 

If they still find this difficult, keep practicing until they master how to articulate the sound. You can also watch this excellent video by The Speech Scoop for extra speech therapy help.

Using Forbrain to Upgrade Sound Practice

Enhance your child’s learning and mastery of the tricky vocalic /r/ sound by using our patented Forbrain headset. 

Used for just 10 minutes per day, your child will learn how to distinguish the sound, get instant feedback from the enhanced auditory feedback loop, and get the targeted practice they need to overcome speech challenges and grow in confidence. 

Scientifically proven and widely used by professional speech therapists, it uses cutting-edge technology and an innovative design to optimize learning, stimulate neural pathways, finely tune pronunciation, and sharpen articulation for effective, natural communication. 

Unlock your child’s potential with Forbrain today. 

Final Words

If your child is struggling to pronounce the vocalic /r/ word, don’t worry. Use the list of vocalic /r/ words, phrases, and sentences alongside the patented Forbrain headset and you’ll soon see a huge improvement. 

Reinforce their learning and make it fun by using games, activities, and books to help your child can improve their articulation, grow in confidence, and effortlessly use this tricky sound in everyday spoken language. 

Charlotte Witts

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150+ Vocalic R Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Reading Passages

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Vocalic r words, vocalic -ar phrases and sentences.

alarm clock

shuffle cards

old garbage

white garlic

security guard

play the harp

glass marble

start running

yarn basket

He pushed the button on the alarm.

The soldiers in the army stood at attention.

You can see art at the museum.

The dog's bark is scary.

The car is fast.

We will play a game with cards.

It was dark, but the moon was out.

Every summer he visited his grandparents on the farm.

Take the garbage out today.

My food needs garlic.

The guard watched the hallway.

She has played the harp for years.

He is holding a red heart.

I found a marble on the floor.

The star was hanging on the tree.

It was the start of the race.

I work in my yard a lot.

I have many different colors of yarn.

Vocalic -AR Reading Paragraph

When you live on a farm, your day starts early in the morning. The alarm goes off around 4 a.m. It is always dark outside when we wake up, but the stars are pretty to look at.

Some days it feels like your heart needs a jump start. My dog, Barney, helps me wake up by licking my face. Sometimes he will bark at me too. He makes a great guard dog.

Once we get our hearts going, we go downstairs and eat a big breakfast. When breakfast is over, we pick up the yard a little and head to the barn. Working in the barn is like being in the army, there are a lot of rules to stay safe. The barn is quiet in the mornings.

When morning chores are finished it is time for lunch. After lunch we work with the crops until dinner. After dinner we relax from a hard day's work. We like to look at the stars, play marbles and cards, and sometimes we take a ride in the car. Then we go to bed and get ready to do it all again in the morning. 

Return to Top of Vocalic R Words Page

Vocalic -AIR Phrases and Sentences

asparagus bunch

hungry bear

beware of dog

wooden chair

run a marathon

married couple

sad nightmare

open parachute

happy parents

talking parrot

nice to share

new sheriff

square block

She is holding an arrow.

I eat my asparagus steamed.

The bear was hunting for food.

The sign says beware of dog.

Matthew sat down on the chair.

They had fun at the fair.

She has long, pretty hair.

The marathon had 500 runners.

They are a married couple.

I had a nightmare yesterday.

He floated down using his parachute.

They love being parents.

How does a parrot talk?

Can I have a bite of your pear?

She is nice to share her ice cream.

The sheriff took the robber to jail.

A square has four sides.

Don't make me tear these papers.

Vocalic -AIR Reading Paragraph

Sheriff of fairview.

Gary was the Sheriff of Fairview. He had lived in Fairview his whole life. His parents and grandparents had lived in Fairview their whole lives too. Gary knew everyone. He remembered that his scariest nightmare was about living somewhere else and not knowing anyone.

Fairview was a town where Gary had experienced a lot of "firsts" in his life. It was where he shot his first arrow, ran his first marathon, saw his first bear, and bought his first parrot. He was even married in the Fairview town square.

Every year, Fairview held its annual fair. It was some of the best fun the town members had all year. They often shared their stories with each other from years before.

During last year's fair, Gary warned everyone to beware of the bear around the town. It had been looking for food and wandered into the town square right during the fair. It scared a lot of people, luckily no one got hurt.

That was the first call Gary received as the new sheriff. He was able to make enough noise and use a chair to scare the bear away after he got to the town square. It was one of the more memorable town fairs in Fairview's history. 

Vocalic -ER Phrases and Sentences

butter popcorn

family dinner

shovel dirt

first place

dirty germs

hurt finger

tall ladder

white paper

white skirt

stir around

classroom teacher

male turkey

whisper softly

I put butter on my popcorn.

They sat down for a family dinner.

He had a shovel full of dirt.

He won first place.

He combed the poodle's fur.

Germs are growing on the dishes.

The girl is sitting on the pink chair.

The little boy hurt his finger.

Use the ladder to reach the fruit.

They are both learning math.

Please take out a sheet of paper.

She takes her purse everywhere.

She is wearing her favorite skirt.

The spider waited for flies in the web.

I need to stir the soup.

She is our 5th grade teacher.

A turkey sounds funny when it gobbles.

She whispered into the girl's ear.

Vocalic -ER Reading Paragraph

Favorite teacher.

My science teacher, Mr. Kerr, is my most favorite teacher in the world. Every class period we do the coolest experiments. We have made paper planes, studied what spiders eat for dinner, learned the molecular differences between dirt and butter, and looked at germs under a microscope.

At first, most of our class was nervous to do all of these crazy things, but after studying butter and dirt we were amazed at how cool science is. We told Mr. Kerr our concerns and he reassured us if we would give the experiments a chance, we wouldn't be sorry.

Mr. Kerr is dedicated too. Last year he hurt his shoulder playing basketball. He had to have surgery on it and I'm sure he was in a lot of pain. He didn't care though. He still came to school and taught our class how to make a liquid into a solid by stirring specific materials together. Then he had us climb a ladder and pour it off onto the floor.

He also likes to surprise our class with opportunities to learn. During November, we had a lesson about what has to happen to a turkey before we can eat it. The class thought it would be gross, and some of it was, but we learned a lot about the process. The girl next to me and I agree that we will miss Mr. Kerr's science class. 

SEE ALSO:   The Best Free App for Speech Therapy

Vocalic -EAR Phrases and Sentences

bushy beard

hospital cafeteria

grocery store cashier

bowl of cereal

crystal chandelier

clear ocean

small hearing aid

side view mirror

near each other

tall pyramid

metal shears

cheap souvenir

steer clear

He is not going to cut his beard.

The hungry lady is in the cafeteria.

The cashier is giving change to the customer.

Have a bowl of cereal for breakfast.

A crystal chandelier is elegant.

They did a cheer at the pep rally.

The ocean is clear and beautiful.

He puts the hearing aid in his ear.

I checked my side view mirror.

The horses are near each other.

Walk to the end of the pier.

We saw the pyramid in the desert.

He is pruning the bush with shears.

He bought a souvenir to remember his trip.

The statue is holding a spear.

He will steer in the right direction.

He is wearing a weird costume.

It is almost the end of the school year.

Vocalic -EAR Reading Paragraph

Bearded storyteller.

The man with the beard had traveled everywhere. He had amazing stories that he would tell to people passing by on the pier. He had trouble hearing so you had to speak up to ask him questions.

He told stories about jobs he had. He was a cashier in Bosnia, a chandelier salesman in Denmark, and a spear sharpener at a museum in Australia. He had the chance to steer a boat in the Baltic Sea, go inside the pyramids in Egypt, and took a picture near the Mona Lisa in Paris.

He had pictures of lots of weird things he had seen all along the way. During his travels he had bought souvenirs at every place he had visited. He had a two way mirror from Nepal, a special wheat cereal from Dubai, a small gladiator spear from Rome, and some pruning shears from Rio de Janeiro that never needed to be sharpened.

He had traveled for years and seen many beautiful places. At the end of his stories he would tell listeners that he only had one regret. Then he would say how he wished he wouldn't have done all of his traveling alone.

Then he would encourage his listeners to find someone special to share their experiences with. People would often cheer because they liked what they learned from him. 

Vocalic -IRE Phrases and Sentences

roaring campfire

church choir

clothes dryer

Empire State Building

roaring fire

fireman courage

lost and found flier

see Ireland

metal pliers

sapphire ring

watchful umpire

scary vampire

The boy and his dad admire each other.

They got a first time buyer discount on the home.

They took marshmallows to the campfire.

The choir likes to perform.

She put the clothes into the dryer.

The Empire State Building is in New York City.

The fire kept them warm.

The fireman was very brave.

They posted a lost and found flier to find their dog.

She wants to hire a new worker.

We are going on vacation to Ireland.

Her mom thought she was a liar.

Cut the wire with pliers.

The necklace has a sapphire in it.

He is tired from working hard.

The umpire called a strike.

We saw a vampire in the haunted house.

The fence had barb wire on it.

Vocalic -IRE Reading Paragraph

Vampire jeweler.

Megan was a vampire from Ireland. But she wasn't a typical vampire. She didn't hurt people or fight with anyone. She made sapphire jewelry. She used pliers, silver wire, and beautiful sapphires and other gems to make bracelets, rings, and earrings. Many people admired her work and she had buyers from all over the world who bought her jewelry.

Since vampires don't sleep and don't get tired, Megan had lots of time to make the jewelry. She would sit by a campfire, listen to her favorite choir, and make jewelry all night long.

One day when she was in town getting groceries, she saw a flyer posted in the store. The flyer stated that a person in her town had a fire in their bedroom and all of their belongings had been burned. It also said they had lost all of their jewelry in the fire and they wanted to hire someone to make them new jewelry.

Megan called the number on the flyer. She told the woman on the other end that she wanted to help her replace the jewelry she lost. The woman was grateful and hired Megan right over the phone.

Megan went to work making many new pieces of sapphire jewelry for the woman. Four days later, Megan visited the woman to show her all of the new jewelry.

A fireman had been to visit the woman to talk about how the fire had been started in her bedroom. The fireman told the woman that she was very lucky that the fire had not caught the rest of the house on fire. Megan went in and sat down on the woman's couch to show her the jewelry. The woman was very happy with the jewelry Megan made for her.

"Clean the jewelry one time each month, don't wear them for more than eight days without taking them off, and never put them in the dryer. That would melt the wire," said Megan, giving the woman instructions. The woman agreed, thanked Megan for her hard work, and Megan went home to finish making more jewelry. 

Vocalic -OR Phrases and Sentences

bored student

church chorus

yellow corn

thick forest

peel orange

ocean shore

play sports

clothing store

scary tornado

She was bored doing her homework.

The chorus sang beautifully.

We are having corn for dinner.

We knocked on the door three times.

The wood floor made the room look great.

Many trees are in the forest.

She will be four years old in October.

The horn is gold and shiny.

The horse is running fast.

He is going to eat the orange.

Let's eat popcorn during the movie.

Can I pour you a glass of water?

Let's go play by the sea shore.

The shorts were on sale.

You can choose to play many sports.

It was their favorite store to shop at.

It was a big lightning storm.

Mom read a story to her son.

The tornado destroyed many homes.

Vocalic -OR Reading Paragraph

Storm chasing.

Jordan has a cool but dangerous job. He is a storm chaser. He never gets bored. A few times per month, he and his four person crew jump in their cars and chase tornadoes. Jordan wasn't always interested in storms though, he has an interesting story about why he became a storm chaser.

He grew up farming corn with his mom and dad. He rode horses, played sports, and was a typical kid. When he was 17 years old, a tornado touched down in the city he lived in. It traveled four miles south of town and wiped out his family's farm.

Jordan and his family hid in their storm cellar and were not hurt from the tornado, but the tornado destroyed everything his family had. His family was poor for a few years following the tornado while he and his family looked for ways to earn money. Jordan made doors, worked at the grocery store, and even sold popcorn to make money to pay for food.

It was a hard time for Jordan and his family. As a result, Jordan decided to go to college to become a meteorologist. He studied weather and weather patterns. He wanted to learn how tornadoes moved so that he could warn people when they were coming.

About one year ago, all of his hard work paid off when he received funding for his research. Many storm chasers don't make much money, but Jordan didn't care about that. He had lived without a lot of money. Jordan wanted to help people. He was excited about how the money he received would help gather enough information to help more people in the future.

This list of functional words was professionally selected to be the most useful for a child or adult who has difficulty with producing the "Vocalic R" sound.

We encourage you to use this list when practicing at home.

Doing home practice will help your child make much faster progress toward correct production.

Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are only able to see students/clients 30-60 mins (or less) per week.

This is not enough time  for your child to overcome an articulation disorder with the "Vocalic R" sound. But with high caseloads...

...it's all SLPs can do.

There's  only so much time  in the day.

Every day that your child goes without practice  it becomes more and more difficult  to correct an "Vocalic R" error because he/she continues to say it incorrectly. 

SEE ALSO:   The Best Books for Speech Therapy Practice

We know life is busy , but if you're reading this you're probably someone who cares about helping their loved one as much as you can.

Practice 5-10 minutes whenever you can, but try to do it on a consistent basis (daily).

Please, please, please use this list to practice.

It will be a great benefit to you and your loved one's progress.

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Activities for speech therapy for r words.

There are so many fun speech therapy activities that you can use to target r in articulation therapy. All of these activities are full of the r sound! This makes it so easy to get a tonne of trials during play.

I have listed some of of my favorite games, toys, songs, and books that you can use in your speech sound therapy sessions. I have even included an r word lists that you can use with a huge variety of therapy activities!

All of these games have a bunch of naturally occurring r words!

Beware of Bear: Beware, Bear, Careful, Grumpy, Danger, Dare

Racoon Rumpus: Ready, Racoon, Dress, Shirt, Turn, Roll, Green, Purple, Rainbow, Underwear, Remember

Greedy Granny: Granny, Treats, Greedy, Pretzel, Cracker, Arrow

Too Many Carrots: Carrot, Rabbit, Carry, Problem, Proud, Burrow, Crowded, Tortoise, Tree, Squirrel

Roar: Roar, Dear, Right, Rabbit, Squirrel, Playground, Terrible, Ran

The Very Hungry Caterpillar: Hungry, Caterpillar, Butterfly

Little Red Riding Hood: Red, Riding, Grandma, Forest, Treats

The Gruffalo: Gruffalo, Forest, Terrible, Clever, Brown, Favorite,

Bear Wants More: Bear, More, Roots, Fresh, Grass, Hungry, Crunch, Gopher, Surprise, Raven, Party, Snore

SENSORY BINS

Mermaid Theme Sensory Bin : Mermaid, Rock, Starfish, Coral, Water

Arctic Theme Sensory Bin: Green. Artic Fox, Fur, Tree, Reindeer, Polar Bear, Feather, Warm

Dinosaur Sensory Bin : Dinosaur, Roar, Green, Run, Rock, T- Rex

Monster Sensory Bin: Monster, Green, Arm, Scary

All of these sensory bins are included in my Thematic Sensory Bin Product!

Counting Surprise Party: Present, Green, Robot, Guitar, Dinosaur, Purple

Transformers: Transform, Megatron, Optimums Prime, Red, Car, Truck, Drive

Barbies: Barbie, Girl, Dress, Friend, Hair, Skipper, Brush

Toy Farm: Tractor, Barn, Red, Farm, Horse, Farmer, Rooster

Dinosaurs and Tape: Tape Dinosaurs to a cookie sheet and Rescue them: Rescue, Dinosaur, Roar, Ready, Four, Rip

MOVEMENT GAME

Race - Don’t Drop: Place a bean bag (RED ideal!) on a spoon. Make sure each PLAYER has one. RACE to the finish line but make sure not to DROP your RED bean bag

CARD ACTIVITY

Hide Cards: Hide your CARDS in the DARK. Use a flashlight to find them! Make sure to GRAB them when you find them!

Memory: Can you REMEMBER WHERE your CARD is?

Need some articulation cards? Check these out!

PLAY ACTIVITIES

Flower Shop: Set up a pretend flower shop. Use dollar store FLOWERS, pretend DOLLARS, and a cash REGISTER. Don't forget RIBBON and WATERING CAN!

ONLINE LEARNING:

Use this Sound Loaded Scene of a Flower Shop that allows CUSTOMERS to go the FLOWER STORE and PURCHASE all kinds of beautiful flowers. (There resource includes a scene for each English Consonant sound! )

Here is a list of functional words that you can incorporate into any of your speech therapy activities to target r.

Ready, Red, Race, Rip, Run, Roll, Sorry, Rain, Read, Fork, Shirt, Cereal, Carry, Story, Car, More, Share, Wear, Before, Super, Teacher, Care, Far, Hair, Player, Here, Door

I hope you are able to incorporate some of these activities into your preschool and school speech therapy sessions. Your students will love practicing in these fun and natural activities!

Interested in more play based articulation therapy ideas? Make sure to download this free K Unit from the Play Based Articulation Handbook!

Includes the K unit word list, low prep activity ideas with detailed instructions, dramatic play ideas, gross motor ideas, fine motor ideas, and game/toy/books/songs suggestions!

Also includes a cheat sheet for Play Based Articulation using a Toy Farm! 

• Play Based Speech Therapy Ideas

Related Posts

Play Based Articulation using a Toy Farm

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R Word List

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BUNDLE Executive Function

✨ As seen on Boom Cards Featured Bundles!

This BUNDLE of executive function cards includes problem solving stories, social stories, predicting stories, sequencing stories, and flexible thinking stories.

Multiple types of wh- questions, why and how questions, labeling exercises, multiple choice, and drag and drop categorizations   are included throughout this bundle to encourage an in depth understanding of each executive functioning skill.

⭐️ 80 Problem Solving

• Multiple choice question
• 2 labeling exercises

⭐️   52 Social Stories

• Topics of social skills to choose from (feelings, manners, listening, sharing & turns, making friends, being kind)
• Sorting exercise
• 2 wh- questions

⭐️   50 Predicting (✨ as seen on Top Premium Boom Cards ✨)

• What questions
• How questions

⭐️   50 Sequencing

• 3 different what questions per story

⭐️   40 Flexible Thinking (✨ as seen on Top Premium Boom Cards ✨)

• Why questions
• Labeling exercise

Each deck includes a teaching slide and visual to help your students better understand executive function skills before practicing! 

CLICK HERE for Boom Cards Preview.

To use Boom Cards, you must be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account.If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.Read here for details: http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

Wh- Questions & Short Stories

15 short stories to target wh- questions, auditory comprehension, reading comprehension, recall, and more!

Multiple levels of difficulty, including both shorter and longer paragraphs for a variety of length and detail in the stories.

✨ As featured on Boom Cards Top Premium Decks ✨

⭐ Wh- Questions in Short Stories

• 15 Paragraph Short Stories
• 6 Wh- Questions for every story
• Stories are 4-9 sentences in length
• What, where, who, when, why, and how questions for every story

BUNDLE for Wh- Questions also available in Shine Speech Activities shop , which includes short stories and sentences!

CLICK HERE for Boom Cards Preview .

*This product contains the same activities as the PDF version. If you would like the PDF version, view   Wh- Questions & Short Stories, Auditory Comprehension .

To use Boom Cards, you   must   be connected to the Internet. Boom Cards play on modern browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge). Apps are available for modern Android, iPads, iPhones, and Kindle Fires. For security and privacy, adults must have a Boom Learning account to use and assign Boom Cards. You will be able to assign the Boom Cards you are buying with "Fast Pins," (a form of play that gives instant feedback to students for self-grading Boom Cards). For assignment options that report student progress back to you, you will need to purchase a premium account.   If you are new to Boom Learning, you will be offered a free trial of our premium account.   Read here for details:   http://bit.ly/BoomTrial .

Sentence Comprehension & Language Comprehension

Improve sentence comprehension, language and reading comprehension, and picture comprehension with 4 activities and over 125 prompts for speech therapy or classrooms! Target comprehending, receptive language, and more.

This resource includes   4 different ways to practice sentence comprehension , including wh questions, pictures, fill in the blanks, and more. Real photos are included in this resource.

⭐️ Sentence Comprehension:

• 40 sentence comprehension task cards with 3 questions each
• 30 real photo sentence comprehension prompts
• 30 multiple choice reading comprehension activities
• 30 fill in the blank language comprehension prompts

⭐️   Targeted Skills:

• Improve sentence comprehension skills
• Increase receptive and expressive language abilities
• Expand skills for understanding sentences and pictures

Story Builders & Create A Story

Improve creative writing with these narrative and short story prompts! This set of   70 short story builders   comes with character, location, event and time learning targets.

Help your students improve their stories and increase their creative narrative skills. There is space for students to type or write their stories, as well as an organizing task for story parts. 

Your students will have all the tools they need to create unique and imaginative stories!

⭐️ Includes:

• 70 story builders
• 3 practice levels
• A combination of who (character), where (location), what (event) and when (time) story part targets
• 36 story builders that include 2 story parts
• 20 story builders that include 3 story parts
• 14 story builders that include 4 story parts
• Story parts organizing task with pictures
• Space for creative writing and narrative generation
• Instructions on each page 

⭐️ Teaching slides:

• In depth information about the 4 included story parts
• Descriptions
• Picture matching activities 

Save your time and energy, this set is NO PREP! Includes everything you need to elicit creative, engaging stories from your students.

Perfect for SLPs, teachers, or parents looking to expand language or writing in a fun and creative way!

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Materials & Games

R blends for speech therapy can be difficult to learn for any child, especially a child with a speech disorder; however, I am here to help ease this task with some free and paid resources at my R Blends Word List page. 

There is a little something for everyone!

Available R Blends Resources

You have 3 options for resources:

• Free (word lists and game ideas)
• Join our informative newsletter (also free!) and receive free cariboo cards and smash mats
• Purchase our awesome full set of R blends resources (smashmats and Cariboo cards)

Keep reading to explore and discover which resources best fit your needs.

Paid Resources

By popular demand, I created a “blends edition” of our Cariboo cards and articulation smashmats.

Cariboo Cards - Blend Edition

• Cariboo cards for the following S blends: SK, SL, SM, SN, SP, ST, SW
• Cariboo cards for the following L blends: BL, FL, GL, KL, PL
• Cariboo cards for the following R blends: BR, KR, DR, FR, GR, PR, STR, TR, THR, SHR, SKR, SPR, TW
• 26 pages in total
• You get more than just R blends

Smashmats - Blends Edition

• Articulation mats for the following L blends: BL, FL, GL, KL, PL
• Articulation mats for the following R blends: BR, KR, DR, FR, GR, PR, STR, TR, THR, SHR
• Articulation mats for the following S blends: SKR, SPR, SK, SL, SM, SN, SP, ST, SW, TW
• There is one mat with that combines all blends for each sound
• There are game boards for the all sounds listed above as well

You can read more about it  here or buy your own copy by clicking the link below and adding it to your cart.

If you want a free smashmat, fill out the form below!

21 free smashmats.

Sign up below to receive your free materials.

R Blends Word List

Br blends word list, kr blends word list, dr blends word list, fr blends word list, gr blends word list, pr blends word list, str blends word list, tr blends word list, thr blends word list, shr blends word list, skr blends word list.

Screwdriver

SPR Blends Word List

Tw blends word list, google drive r blend word list.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Google Drive. I can access my word lists from any device; laptop, desktop, or phone. 

If you want a copy, fill out the form above. I put all the word lists in one folder.  Once you receive your email with the materials, make a copy of the files and they are yours to use and tweak as needed.

• If you need help saving the word lists to your Google Drive, click here:  Save Google Document
• If you LOVE Google Drive as much as I do, check out our  Speech Therapy Documentation Page. 

Articulation Games for R Blends

Take turns with your child saying the desired words during the games listed below. It is important to practice  hearing  and  saying  the words.

• Brush  - A child can brush his/her hair, brush your hair, brush a doll’s hair, or use a paintbrush. Make sure to say “brush” before taking a turn.
• Crayon  - Practice “kr” while drawing a picture using crayons. Say “crayon” before picking a new color.
• Drive  - Drive cars around a track, down a ramp, on the floor, etc.. You and your child can pretend to drive somewhere or talking about driving while actually driving a car.
• Frog  - Play with toy frogs, find actual frogs in a lake/pond, or do frog jumps around the room.
• Green/Gray  - Find all the green or gray things in a room. Easy!
• Price  - Play store and name/decide the prices of objects
• Street  - Push cars or trucks on a street (pretend street)
• Treasure  - Play toys around the room and go on a treasure hunt to find them
• Throw  - Throw a ball in a basket or paper scarps in the garbage. Fun!
• Shred  - Rip up paper as you pretend to “shred” them
• Scribble  - Get out lots of coloring utensils and make scribbles
• Spray  - Fill a bottle with water and spray plants, the sidewalk, etc...
• Twist  - Twist around while dancing

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If you are a parent and your child

• has trouble saying multiple sounds 
• needs to work on vocabulary development
• needs to improve grammar skills
• is working on following directions
• needs to work on narrative language
• needs to work on social skills

AND you want

• a step-by-step guide to help your child 
• ideas on how to improve all language skills at home
• functional games

Then, our  members site might be just what you need. 

If you are a professional and you want: 

• Articulation Screening Tools
• Data tracking sheets
• Templates in Google Drive for easy data tracking and graphing
• Homework sheets/parent handouts on articulation therapy
• General flashcard games
• 36 flashcards for each sound: B, D, F, G, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, V, Z, SH, TH, CH
• 8-10 functional games for each sound
• Language based worksheets to spice things up!
• Picture description tasks
• Short story stimuli

Our  membership might be just what you need.

About the Author

Bridget giraldo, ms  ccc-slp .

Hi, I’m Bridget! I’m a speech-language pathologist from Illinois, USA. I’ve worked with children and adults of all ages in schools, preschools, hospitals, rehab facilities, and now in my own private practice. My expertise is my ability to create effective, research-based materials and speech therapy techniques that streamline and simplify our professional lives!  I graduated from University of Wisconsin, Madison with my masters degree in Communication Disorders. 

• Word Lists For Speech Therapy
• R Blends: Materials and Games

Vocalic /R/ Word List for Speech Production Practice

Prevocalic /r/ Word Lists are below.

er medial stressed

Er medial unstressed, ire initial, air initial, ear initial, prevocalic /r/, consonantal /r/ and initial /r/ blends practice word list, prevocalic /r/, initial /r/ blends, prevocalic /r/ word lists levels 1-14.

There are actually 14 unique levels for Prevocalic /r/. Prevocalic /r/ is /r/ produced at the beginning of a word as in race, and read. the degree of difficulty is due to the roundedness of the vowel. The main substitution or misproduction for prevocalic /r/ is w/r substitution as in wed for red. In working with students in the school-based setting, we have determined an actual hierarchy for prevocalic /r/. We do not move onto the next level until the previous level has been mastered.

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A Parent's Guide to R Sound Speech Therapy and How It Can Help Your Child

If your child has difficulty with the r-sound, they may need some help to learn how to pronounce it. This article covers the basics of R sound speech therapy and how it can help your child learn to speak more accurately.

It isn't too concerning if your child can't pronounce R as a preschooler. Rs are the most difficult letter to pronounce, and often kids won't fully develop the ability until the age of seven. However, if you are finding your attempts to teach your child to pronounce their Rs properly is causing conflict, it could interfere with family dynamics and your child's confidence.

The inability to pronounce Rs is a speech impediment called rhoticism. It is so common there is speech therapy specifically designed to help children pronounce their Rs. This is a complete guide to R speech therapy and how it can help your child learn to make the R sound stress-free.

Master 'R' Sounds with Ease!

What is Rhoticism?

Rhoticism is the most common speech disorder children experience. Inability to pronounce the R sound usually leads to a child pronouncing their Rs as Ws. This is because there are more variations of the letter R pronouncement than any other letter. Adding to the difficulty, it isn't easy to show a child how to position their mouth and tongue to make the sound correctly. For example, when showing a child to make the letter B, they can see the movement of your lips, making it easier for them to mimic you and make the sound.

When Should a Child Be Able to Say Their R's?

R is usually the last letter children learn to make. In most cases, a child begins to say forms of their Rs by about two and a half and has it perfected by the age of six. For some, however, development might not be perfected until as late as age seven . In most cases, rhoticism isn't addressed until a child approaches age seven or eight, but R sound speech therapy and coaching can start sooner.

Why Are There So Many Variations of R?

The R sound occurs most frequently when speaking English. It is challenging to master because it has so many variations in pronunciation. Where the R occurs in the word influences how the R should sound. Variations include:

• R as in run
• RL as in pearl
• IRE as in fire
• AR as in far
• EAR as in dear
• OR as in door
• ER as in sister
• AIR as in dare

With so many variations, you can see why it might be more challenging for a child to learn to master each sound with the rest of their letters.

How Can I Help My Child Say Rs?

Parents can also learn to assist their child with some fun exercises such as:

Connect Rs to Vowels

Many children find it easier to say their Rs with a vowel. R blends speech therapy such as making your way through the vowels, making it easier to understand how to pronounce R in different variations. First, pronouncing the vowel, either long or short, holding the sound, and then adding an R at the end helps your child hear how the letters sound together. For long A, you would begin with them saying aaaaaa and then adding the R to say aaaaaarrrrrr as in air. Then for the short, they would start saying ahhhhhhh and then add the R to say ahhhhrrrrr as in car.

Tongue Movement

As mentioned, one of the challenges with R's is the difficulty providing visual cues to show them how to pronounce the letter. Since you can't show them your tongue, you can try using your arm to show them by extending your arm out to the front and then pulling it up towards your body as you pronounce the R.

R Sound Activities

Always approach the exercises as something fun you can do together, so your child isn't self-conscious or nervous. For example, Rs are very much like growls. Have your child act out being certain animals like a cranky dog growling or a mighty lion roaring. Have them roll the R out as they mimic each animal. Pirates also make an R sound when they say "argh." You can dress up as pirates to practice the sounds. You can also watch their favorite cartoon and whenever a character makes an R sound have them shout it out or repeat it.

Use Rs Every Day

Find opportunities to pronounce Rs with your child, whether pointing out foods in the grocery store with Rs, items in a park, or even when your child hears you say an R.

Practicing R words speech therapy at home can be very helpful, but success is more likely with the help of a speech therapist.

What Causes Rhoticism?

Speech disorders like rhoticism are related to difficulty making sounds when speaking. In the case of rhoticism, it is related to not tensing their tongue enough or failing to move it correctly. Trying to master the up and backward movement when pronouncing R's can be tricky, which is why children often start by making a W sound instead. The child sees most letters pronounced with the lips, while Rs are pronounced with the tongue.

How Does R Speech Therapy Help?

R sound speech therapy can make a world of difference for your child. Your child's therapist provides a safe learning environment where they won't feel judged or pressured. Speech therapists take time to build a rapport with their patients to feel more comfortable during the process. Parents can often inadvertently cause a child to feel they are under attack or doing something wrong. Speech therapists alleviate that family stress providing neutral ground where a child can feel less vulnerable. Their goal is to assist your child in learning how to move their tongue to achieve the correct positions to pronounce their Rs correctly.

Each child is treated as an individual with an assessment to understand their challenges and then use different methods to find the approach that they respond to best. Therapists make articulation therapy fun using games and activities that children respond to well. Your child will improve over time, enjoying small successes each session until the Rs roll naturally off their tongue. Through practice, they learn how to make R sounds, add Rs to syllables, then words, phrases, and complete sentences with confidence !

We invite you to learn more about how Articulation Speech Therapy at Nobles Speech Therapy can help your child pronounce the R sound better and overcome other speech difficulties.

You May Also Be Interested

5 Tips for Improving Child’s Speech Skills Without Damaging Confidence

S-Blends Speech Therapy Guide for Parents

S Sound Speech Therapy for Kids

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R Sound Speech Therapy {Word Search}

If your caseload is anything like mine when I was working as a speech therapist in the elementary school setting I would say about 50% of my caseload was working on articulation. About 25% of those students were working on the r sound and r blends. That was a huge part of my caseload! I frequently got bored and tired of playing the same Go Fish game. That’s why today I’m bringing to you different r sound speech therapy activities and articulation therapy techniques to try.

Correct Sound Production

In the English language, the r sound is one of the most difficult sounds as well as one of the last sounds to develop. There are two different ways a Speech Language Pathologist can teach tongue placement for r remediation. 

First, let’s review the two different variations for tongue movements for producing the correct r sound:

• Retroflexed R

The two different tongue positions are very similar and vary in mid-tongue and tongue tip placements:

• Teeth: The /r/ sound is made by having a slight gap between the teeth.
• Lips: Lips should be in a neutral position and not rounded. (A rounded lip shape might lead to a w sound in place of an /r/ sound, such as “wed” for the word “red”.
• Sides of the Tongue: Be sure to place the sides of the tongue and back of the tongue against the upper side of your teeth to allow for the passage of air to go down the center of the tongue.
• Retroflexed Tongue Position: Have the mid-tongue somewhat tense but not bunched up. Then place the tip of the tongue pointing up to the roof of their mouth just past the alveolar ridge.
• Bunched Tongue Position: Have the mid-tongue bunched up near the roof of the mouth. Then place the tip of the tongue pointing down or straight.
• Air: Then blow a skinny stream of air over the center of your tongue (you do not want the air to come out the sides of the tongue).
• Voice: The next step is that the r sound is also a voiced sound so your voice box or vocal cords should vibrate. You can tell that their voice is turned on by touching your voice box on your neck and feeling it vibrate (the upper part of the throat).

Hardest Sounds

Please keep in mind that the r sound is a later developing sound and one of the hardest aspects is teaching the complexity of speech movements. 

Teaching the right way to place the child’s tongue can be difficult and give you a hard time. 

That’s why it’s important to work closely with a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist to give you professional help when working with your child to find the right position for their tongue and to produce a great sounding r sound.

R Speech Sounds

• Prevocalic R – is when the r sound comes before a vowel sound, such as an initial r word “red”. 
• Vocalic R  Sound – is when the r sound comes after a vowel sound, such as: or, ar, er, ear, ire, air.

Target Word Lists

Here’s an r word list for you to use in your practice sessions or at home practice to work on your student or child’s speech.

• For Example: run, rest, ride, rake, root, parade, tarp, harp, worm, farm, soccer, wire, weather, faster, baker

See full list of 1220+ R words at the word level, phrase level, and sentence level here. Plus this list provides words in the initial position of words, medial r words, and final r words.

Word Positions of R Words

Initial position of words.

The initial r sound is at the beginning of the word. For example, the r sound at the beginning of a word would be “rock” or “race”.

Medial Position of Words

Some words have the r sound in the medial position of a word, such as “scared”, “tired”, and “fork”.

Final Positions of Words

The final word position is when the target sound is at the end of a word. For example, “tiger” or “star”.

Need Different Sounds?

You won’t want to miss out on my complete growing list of the most common sounds in all my articulation word lists !

SEE ALSO: 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy

Correct production – effective r therapy.

Do you have any r kids who are struggling with the incorrect production of the r sound? 

If so, here are a handful of new strategies that therapists have had great success with helping their speech students produce the tricky sound of R. 

Start with one simple program below and if that doesn’t work you can keep working through the different strategies until you find one that your student finds success with.

You can even grab a tongue depressor to use as a tactile cue to help correct speech errors.

• Teach Tongue and Mouth Anatomy: The first step you can start with is by teaching the parts of the tongue and mouth that will help with cueing for articulation placement. Grab the R Sound Freebie – Anatomy of Tongue and Mouth for Speech Therapy by Speechy Things.
• Phonemic Awareness, Auditory Discrimination, & Articulation: Practice targeting all three skills with this free trial of Locate! Discriminate! Articulate! – /r/: FREE TRIAL VERSION by OTTeR Speech.
• Phonemic Awareness: Have your students start by identifying where they hear the r sound in a word. Use this Phonemic Awareness – R Freebie by michjco to get started.
• Perception Training: Start with R Perception Training by having the student identify the difference between the correct R sound and the incorrect R sound. Grab the R Sound Perception Training FREEBIE: Early R Speech Therapy Activities from Speechy Things.
• Vocalic R Visual Cue: Have students working on the vocalic R? Grad this free Vocalic R Visual Support- Free / English Only worksheet from The Spanish Speechie.
• Minimal Pairs: Use minimal pairs to work on the r sound. Have your students identify the /r/ vs. the /w/ sound with the Free r/w Minimal Pairs Hide & Seek Speech – School Theme – Boom Cards & PPT by Little Speech Shop.

SEE ALSO: Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy

R sound speech therapy ideas.

Below I’ve outlined some r therapy materials that can be used to make your speech therapy sessions or private speech therapy sessions planning a breeze this year. 

R Sound Speech Therapy Word Search

I’m excited to share with you today my newest freebie!

I’ve created 3 different r word searches (initial r, medial r, final r).

Each word search comes with a color version, a black-and-white version, and an answer key.

Be sure to grab your own free copy at the end of this post.

Initial R Word Search

Here is the initial r word search color version.

Here is the initial r word search black and white version.

Here is the initial r word search answer key.

Medial R Word Search

Here is the medial r word search color version.

Here is the medial r word search black and white version.

Here is the medial r word search answer key.

Final R Word Search

Here is the final r word search color version.

Here is the final r word search black and white version.

Here is the final r word search answer key.

Older Students

Finding appropriate articulation resources for older students can be difficult to find. Here are a few appropriate resources for your middle school and high school aged students. 

• R Sound Articulation Lists by Speech Therapy Store – Grab my one page freebie of initial r words, medial r, and final r sounds with real-life photos perfect for older students working on the word, phrase, and sentence levels.

• Interactive Flash Cards by Speech Therapy Store – Have fun using our interactive r flash cards right from your computer! We’ve included 25 flash cards for the initial r, medial r, and final r for a total of 75 interactive flash cards to use with your students or clients right from your computer. 

• Articulation Worksheet for R Sound FREEBIE (Harry Potter Themed) by Speech Therapy Strategies is an interactive Harry Potter themed R articulation worksheet for students up to 12th grade. Students will answer questions about the book that have multiple /r/ sound targets!

SEE ALSO: 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials

Young children.

If you have young children or elementary students (first grade, second grade, or 3-5th grades) on your caseload then be sure to check out these ideas below.

• R Activities I Spy Game by Speech Therapy Store – If you’re looking for an amazing freebie and a great resource then you’re in the right spot. I’ve created a fun and engaging I Spy activity that any student is sure to love!

• Nature-Themed Bundle by Speech Therapy Store – This bundle is a free handout that includes different language skills plus it includes 3 pages to practice the r sound in the initial, medial, and final positions.

• Vocalic R Speech Sound Tracing Activities- No Prep Freebie by The SLT Scrapbook is a set of 6, ready to go pages that will keep your young students busy and engaged as they trace and practice vocalic r.

Online Speech Therapy

• 41+ Interactive Online Games by Speech Therapy Store – In case you haven’t seen it yet I also have a list of over 41 online speech therapy games to help you get started in teletherapy games.

• 11 Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy by Speech Therapy Store – Help your child produce a good initial r sound, medial sound, or final sound with a sound game from the list above.

• 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Teletherapy by Speech Therapy Store – This list is one of my favorite lists. It includes online digital games, such as Mr. Potato Head, Connect Four, and Battleship just to name a few.

• 279+ Free Digital Therapy Materials by Speech Therapy Store – Be sure to check out my complete list of digital materials to make your lessons more digitally interactive.

Boom cards are the right place to go if you’re looking for a fun game to use during your therapy sessions.

Here are a few favorite boom cards to work on the r sound: 

• 917+ Speech Therapy Boom Cards by Speech Therapy Store – I’ve compiled a complete list of over 917+ speech therapy-related boom cards working on everything from articulation to social skills, to language skills.

• Free Speech Therapy Boom Cards | Vocalic R Coarticulation Sentences – AIR by Goldietalks Speech is a great set of R articulation boom cards that are engaging and highly rated! 
• Where’s My /R/ Sound? Articulation (Boom Cards, Teletherapy, Distance Learning) by Teletherapy Speech is a fun boom card game that prompts students to pick the /r/ sound object. 

Grab Your R Sound Speech Therapy Freebie Here!

Simply enter your name and email to have these R sound speech therapy activities emailed directly to your inbox!

Grab our R Sound Word Search!

In conclusion: r sound speech therapy.

We hope you have found this article helpful for working on your child or student’s r sound this school year. 

Want Even More R Sound Speech Therapy Activities?

• 1,220+ R Words Speech Therapy {Interactive Flashcards!}
• 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy
• 261+ Free Ideas for Digital Therapy
• 917+ Best Free Boom Cards for Speech Therapy
• 11 Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy

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