Bossy R for Kids: er, ir and ur Make the Same Sound (Grade 1 and Grade 2 English)

Hi, I'm Luna from DoodleBeez. Today we meet bossy R. When the letter r comes after a vowel, it bosses the vowel around and changes its sound. Listen to her, bird and fur.

Here is the tricky part. E, r and i, r and u, r all make the very same sound. Er, er, er. Three different spellings, but one sound. Let's look at each one.

The e, r spelling is very common at the end of words. Listen to sister, winter and teacher. You also hear it inside words like her and fern.

The i, r spelling shows up in words like bird, girl, shirt and first. Try the silly sentence. The first bird wore a shirt. Can you hear the er sound three times?

The u, r spelling is in words like fur, burn, nurse and turtle. Picture a purple turtle with a curl on its shell. Purple, turtle and curl all use u, r.

How do you know which spelling to use? Sometimes you just have to learn the word. Read a lot, picture the word in your mind, and check a dictionary when you are not sure.

Now it's your turn. A small bird chirps on a branch. Which spelling is in the word chirp: e, r or i, r or u, r? Pause and try. Chirp is spelled with i, r, just like bird!

Great job! Bossy R changes the vowel sound. E, r and i, r and u, r all say er, like in her, bird and turtle. Practice bossy R words in the English Lab at doodlebeez.com. See you next time!