Today I’m sharing set six of my free phonics readers. This set focuses on the r-controlled vowels.
Have you been downloading my free phonics readers? I’ve shared sets for all the short vowels. Now it’s time to move on to other phonics patterns. I’m starting with the most common r-controlled vowel patterns: er, ur, ir, or, and ar.
My four-year-old has been learning to read sight words since right before he turned three. Not because I think two-year-olds need to learn to read (definitely not!), but because I was teaching his older brother (who was four), and he wanted to be part of it. Slowly, but surely, my Four has learned a fair number of sight words and can read many of my sight word readers without help.
Sounding out words, though… that’s tough.
I introduced it here and there, but he wasn’t getting it. I didn’t push it because I knew he wasn’t developmentally ready. When he finally showed all the readiness signs, it started to click.
My phonics books have been a big help in getting my preschooler to recognize and pay attention to phonics patterns. He does quite well with the short vowel phonics books, but this set really made him think. You might wonder why we jumped into ur, ir, er, ar, and or. Why not some easier phonics patterns, like ee or oo?
I’m starting with patterns your child will see a lot when he reads. We’re going to tackle the most common patterns first. (Coming up next… silent e words!)
At the beginning of the book he reads the new phonics pattern. Sometimes he needs my help to remember what the letter combination says.
When he turns the page, the picture will let him know if he got that first word right. On this page he has a number of sight words to review (he, is, in, the) and a phonics pattern from a previous phonics reader (in the word stuck).
Each set of sight word books introduces a new set of sight words. In addition to previously learned sight words, you’ll also find has and this in this set. (Eventually I hope to have sight word books featuring these new words. I’m pausing my sight word reader collection while I finish up the phonics books.)
I think sight word books are great for teaching high frequency words, fluency, and enjoyment of reading. But more focused phonics books really help children focus on the letters within words.
By now you’ve figured out that these books are not actually stories. Some writers can find a way to tell a good story with a set of phonetic words, but I’m not one of them! That’s okay. This isn’t our only reading material.
My Four has so many questions as he reads. “Who is the short man? Why is he yelling? That’s not nice.”
Near the end of each book you’ll sometimes find words with beginning blends (st, cl, etc.) or digraphs (sh, ch, th, wh). These are quite tricky for my little guy, and he often needs my help to read them. As you can see, the last page gives your reader the chance to review all the words in the book. For our first reading of this set, we skipped that page. He just wasn’t ready for it. And the last thing I want to do is burn out my preschooler on reading!
How to assemble:
- Print pages 2-21 front to back (page 1 is my Terms of Use). I like to use light cardstock to make the books durable.
- Separate the stack into each individual book. Each book consists of two pages front to back.
- Cut across the horizontal center of the pages.
- Insert the pages into each other, using the page numbers as a guide.
- Staple with a long arm stapler.
For a picture tutorial to help you put the books together, visit my post with set one.
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Rosetta says
Hi! I signed up for the newsletter, in order to receive your book, “Top 10 Secrets to Teaching Reading”. I am not sure where to click to download the book? Thank you for your help!
Sincerely,
Rosetta
Anna Geiger says
Hi Rosetta! If you did not find the free book yet, I can help you – but you need a password. Please send me an email at themeasuredmom@gmail.com and I can help you out!
Ruth says
Love this for encouraging kids to use the reading strategy of looking for a part they know!! Thanks!
Anna Geiger says
Thanks, Ruth!
Twee says
Thank you so much for this set! I just printed it off and I think there are missing pages for the “or” pattern.
Anna Geiger says
Hmmm… I just downloaded it and it looked complete to me. What exactly do you think is missing?
jm says
Thank you so much for this resource! You knew just what we needed!
Anna Geiger says
I’m so glad to hear that! Stay tuned… lots more phonics readers to come!
Melissa says
I was so excited to find these! THey are exactly what I need for my homeschool, however, every time I click on the link for them, it loads a blank page and freezes my internet. Is it just my computer? Was it just available for a short time last year? Just curious.
Thanks,
Melissa
Anna Geiger says
Nope! My freebies stay free. You can check out this post for help. Let me know if one of these solutions doesn’t work for you!
https://www.themeasuredmom.com/how-to-download-free-files/
Melissa says
Thank you so much. I guess it was just my browser. I appreciate your help!
Marta says
Hi,
First of all thank You for all the materials You are providing here on your page. It is helping a lot.
I need advice concerning the English “r” sound. We are mixed family and our son is pronouncing very hard, Polish – Arabic strong “r” and I don’t know how to teach him right English pronunciation.
Thanks
Anna Geiger says
HI Marta, I would search on the Internet for pronunciation guides for him to listen to. Here’s one I found that might be helpful: http://www.manythings.org/b/e/2588/
Amelia says
Hi there, I am trying to download the phonics r controlled vowel mini book but the link is dead? It takes me to a page that says “oops something went wrong here” can you help me with this problem? Thanks,
Amelia
Anna Geiger says
Did you check the tips here? https://www.themeasuredmom.com/how-to-download-free-files/
Stef says
I have tried tips and still returned an “oops something went wrong here” error page. I guess the link is not working. Thanks.
Anna Geiger says
What happens when you RIGHT click and choose “save link as”? The links open up perfectly on my computer.
Susan says
Your freebies are amazing! I have used so many of them this school year since I discovered them. Thank you so much! 🙂
Anna Geiger says
That’s wonderful to hear, Susan!
Mags says
I love your stuff. It’s all low prep and super excellent.
When i use it in my classroom, I just adjust the pages so the the picture is next to the word.
Anna G says
I’m glad your finding a way to make my resources work for you!
Lindsay says
Hi!
My students and I are working on the “ar” sound. When I downloaded the printable, I only see two pages in the ar book for “yard” and “art”. Am I doing something wrong? Thanks so much!
Anna G says
Hi Lindsay! Do make sure that you’re opening and reading with Adobe Reader. You can get it for free here: https://get.adobe.com/reader/ If you’re still having trouble after you do that, send me an email here: anna(at)themeasuredmom(dot)com.
Jo says
Hi Anna,
I have been trying to work out how to download your free phonics readers, more specifically the controlled r sounds books.
Everytime i click the download now button it asks me to subscribe (which i have done…twice) but i am still not given access to the books, nor do they appear to be in the subscribers vault.
Please can you tell me what i am doing wrong?
Thanks
Kate Dowling says
Hi Jo,
This is Kate, Anna’s assistant. After you enter your email address, the free files are sent to your inbox. So just go back to your email and you should find them! Enjoy the free phonics readers! 🙂