The Letter R

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Content The Letter R

Understanding the Letter R – Definition and Sounds
Writing the Letter R
The Letter R – Example Words and Sentences

Words with the Letter R

The Letter R – Summary
The Letter R – Frequently Asked Questions

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Basics on the topic The Letter R

What is the Letter R? – Introduction

Exploring the English alphabet brings us to the letter r, a letter known for its distinctive growl and prominent position in many words. As the 18th letter in the sequence, the letter r is more than just a character; it’s a phonetic powerhouse that can roll, growl and command attention in both spoken and written language.

Understanding the Letter R – Definition and Sounds

The letter r represents a consonant sound that is notorious for its unique pronunciation. It is often described as a voiced growling or rumbling /r/ sound, made by pushing the air through the mouth and letting the tongue either flap or curl back slightly.

The letter r can appear in various positions in a word: at the beginning (as in "rocket"), in the middle (as in "forest") or at the end (as in "car").

How do you pronounce the letter r?

Can you think of other words that start with the letter r?

Writing the Letter R

Writing the letter r involves a few simple steps. To write the capital R, start with a straight line from top to bottom. Next, go back to the top and add a semi-circle that connects to the top of the line and curves halfway down. Finally, draw a diagonal line from the middle of the semi-circle to the bottom right. For the lower case r, start with a short vertical line. Then, add a small curve extending from the top of the line towards the right, resembling the start of the letter 'n'. To write a pre-cursive letter r, follow the steps below.

Step	Instruction
1	Start on the black line
2	Whoosh to the top.
3	Come back down making a straight line.
4	Go back up this straight line and make a small curve over the top.

Try writing the capital R on a piece of paper. What does your R look like?

Now, practice writing the lower case r. Did you remember to make the tiny curve?

After practising with a worksheet, can you write the letter r without looking?

The Letter R – Example Words and Sentences

The letter r is a prominent letter that appears frequently at the beginning, middle and end of words. For example, Rosie the rabbit ran rapidly around the red roses. In this sentence, the letter r is used at the start of several words, highlighting its versatility and prevalence.

Words with the Letter R

The letter r is common and appears in many words. Here is a list of words where the letter r plays a key role:

Begin With	Contain	End With
rabbit	garden	car
race	orange	star
robot	carrot	sugar
river	mirror	guitar

The Letter R – Summary

Key Learnings from this Text:

The letter r is the 18th letter of the English alphabet, known for its unique voiced growling or rumbling /r/ sound.
Pronunciation of the letter r involves a rumbling sound, with the tongue slightly raised or curled back.
Writing the capital R combines a vertical line, a hump and a diagonal leg, while the lower case r is a short line with a small curve.
The letter R is often spotted in adjacent consonant blends.

Continue practising the letter r with additional resources such as handwriting worksheets, pronunciation guides and interactive reading activities to reinforce your skills!

The Letter R – Frequently Asked Questions

What position does the letter r have in the English alphabet?

Why might the letter r be considered tricky?

Can the letter r be both at the beginning and at the end of words?

What are some strategies for practising the sound of the letter r?

Are there any tips for writing the letter r?

Transcript The Letter R

Let’s join Dee and Kala in the phonics garden and learn all about /r/. This is the letter R, it makes the sound /r/. This is a capital /R/and this is a lower case /r/. They both make the /r/ sound like in red, rug and rip! Let's practise the /r/ sound with Kala! "/R/, /r/!" Can you spy anything in the garden that begins with /r/? "There's a robot, that starts with /r/!" Is there anything else in the garden that starts with /r/? "There's a rose, that also begins with /r/!" Uh-oh! /R/ is hiding with the other letters! Can you help find /r/ in the alphabet? Point to the letter when you find it! Did you also point here? You did some great work in the phonics garden! Today we learnt all about /r/, we listened to and made the /r/ sound! We found words that begin with /r/ and found it in the alphabet! Interested in a challenge? Watch this video again and see if you can find the rocket, the ring and the rainbow hidden in the garden! Comment below when you find them! If you want to learn more, check out the next sound!

The Letter R exercise

Would you like to apply the knowledge you’ve learnt? You can review and practice it with the tasks for the video The Letter R.

Which one is the correct letter?

Hints

Listen carefully to the sound, play it again and think about what you can hear.

This colour is ___.

Look again at the picture above. What sound does this word start with?

Solution

The correct letter is r. This makes the /r/ sound.
What sound does the letter make?

Hints

The word rug starts with the sound.

Listen to all four sounds again. Which one is the same as the beginning of the word robot?

Solution

The correct sound is /r/.
Find the objects that begin with "r".
Hints

There are 5 items that start with r to highlight.

Listen to this word. Can you find it in the picture?

Listen carefully to the names of the objects.

Solution
The five items that begin with r are:
- rhino
- radio
- rice
- rock
- raspberry
What is the word?
Hints

Listen carefully. What other sounds can you hear?

Here we can see the words with pictures. Use this to help you find the matching pairs above.

Solution
The words are:
1. rip
2. rod
3. run
4. rat
Help Kala find the objects that begin with "r".

Hints

Listen to the sound. Which words begin with this sound?

Say all of the items out loud. In which ones do you hear the /r/ sound at the beginning?

There are two correct choices.

Solution

Rabbit and robin start with /r/.
Can you put the words in the correct group?

Hints

Listen carefully to this word. Do you hear r at the beginning or not?

Think carefully about the first sound that you hear, is it r or a different sound?

There are 4 words that begin with r and 2 words that do not.

Solution

Road, ribbon, rose and river have r at the beginning.
Car and crown do not have r at the beginning.