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1000+ R Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Reading Passages Grouped by Place, Syllable, & Blend

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Br - blends, cr - blends, dr - blends, fr - blends, gr - blends, pr - blends.

prairie dog

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Initial R by Syllables

wrist watch

racquet ball

rattlesnake

Rhode Island

right handed

rolling pin

wrestling match

recognition

recollection

relationship

residential

respectable

riding safety

Rocky Mountains

rationality

reciprocity

recommendation

respiratory

roasting marshmallows

Roman Catholic

Roman numeral

reconciliation

reconsideration

Republican Party

Medial R by Syllables

encouragement

interruption

maple syrup

waffle iron

irresistible

Memorial Day

necessarily

verification

voluntarily

Mediterranean

peculiarity

Final R by Syllables

falling star

millionaire

questionnaire

shooting star

conquistador

El Salvador

SEE ALSO:   The Best Books for Speech Therapy Practice

Initial R Phrases and Sentences

cute rabbit

raccoon tail

tennis racquet

pretty rainbow

scoop of raisins

rake leaves

reach up high

read quietly

recycle bin

old rhinoceros

bowl of rice

ride safely

diamond ring

small wrench

write it out

I see a rabbit in the grass.

The raccoon has a striped tail.

They all wanted to race together.

He hit the ball with the racquet.

I am listening to an old radio.

Use the rag to clean the floor.

The rain was pouring down.

I see more than one rainbow.

I want raisins in my cereal.

We rake leaves in the fall.

The rat was looking for some cheese.

She is trying to reach the rings.

It was fun to read about princesses.

She is showing people how to recycle.

Red is my favorite color.

The rhinoceros has big horns.

She is holding a ribbon.

We want rice for dinner.

He went on a motorcycle ride.

She had a beautiful diamond ring.

Don't rip the paper we need it.

The rock is heavy.

There is a big rug in my house.

He likes to run by himself.

He used the wrench to fix the leaky faucet.

He is holding his wrist.

She writes in her journal every week.

Medial R Phrases and Sentences

suspect arrest

charged battery

fresh blueberries

digital camera

fresh carrots

cherry on top

breakfast dairy

beaded earring

erase a mistake

fairy costume

thick forest

tall giraffe

small hearing aid

dry macaroni

married couple

peel orange

talking parrot

pirate ship

nice squirrel

number zero

The police officer made an arrest.

She is holding an arrow.

He needed a battery for his game.

He ate blueberries for breakfast.

She has a digital camera.

We pick carrots from the garden.

I would like a milkshake with a cherry on top.

Dairy is always good for breakfast.

Her earring was too heavy.

If you make a mistake, erase it.

She dressed up as a fairy.

Many trees are in the forest.

Their house has two garage doors.

The giraffe has a long neck.

He puts the hearing aid in his ear.

He dressed up like a hero.

We want macaroni and cheese for dinner.

They are a married couple.

He is going to eat the orange.

How does a parrot talk?

The pirate is looking for treasure.

The squirrel was looking for nuts.

Mom read a story to her son.

I want syrup on my pancakes.

The walrus has huge tusks.

The doctor showed her the x-ray.

Our address has a zero in it.

Final R Phrases and Sentences

hungry bear

butter popcorn

wooden chair

family dinner

clothes dryer

roaring fire

tall ladder

near the hole

white paper

nice to share

ocean shore

square block

classroom teacher

whisper softly

The bear was hunting for food. 

I put butter on my popcorn.

The car is fast.

Matthew sat down on the chair.

They did a cheer at the pep rally.

They sat down for a family dinner.

We knocked on the door three times.

She put the clothes into the dryer.

The fire kept them warm.

The wood floor made the room look great.

She will be four years old in October.

She has long, pretty hair.

Use the ladder to reach the fruit.

The ball is near the hole.

Please take out a sheet of paper.

Can I have a bite of your pear?

Can I pour you a glass of water?

She is nice to share her ice cream.

Let's go play by the sea shore.

The spider waited for flies in the web.

A square has four sides.

The star was hanging on the tree.

She is our 5th grade teacher.

Don't make me tear these papers.

She whispered into the girl's ear.

The fence had barb wire on it.

It is almost the end of the school year.

R Reading Paragraphs

Garage scientist.

Whenever I have free time, I race to my garage. I have all kinds of crazy experiments going on in there. I don't mean testing rats or anything. I mean really cool experiments. 

For example, right now I am experimenting to see if carrots can recharge batteries. I have had other experiments that have gone longer. My experiment to see if raisins will make the speakers in my radio louder has been going on for over a year now. 

There are so many more ideas that I want to experiment with - making a fireproof door, testing to see what rainbows are made of, trying to see if I can teach rats to read. 

If my brain was made of trees, it would be a forest of ideas. Science is radical!

My buddy Randy is my hero. He has won many awards, ribbons, and trophies. But he doesn't care about all of that. He does what he does to help others. Here are a few things he has done that make him such a great guy. 

First of all, he is married and is an awesome dad. He has been a teacher for 15 years and has won teacher of the year three times! He volunteers to read to students at after school programs and pick up garbage on the side of the road on the weekends. 

He recycles paper, plastic, and glass which is good for the environment. He helps people with hearing aids get them for less money. He once saved a baby giraffe from drowning at the zoo. He is writing two books. One about ways to improve classroom education and another with fun short stories for kids. 

There are hundreds of other examples I could share with you. Randy puts his heart and strength into everything he does. He is a real role model and I try to follow the example he sets.

Pirate Fanatic

My sister has a friend who thinks he is a pirate. He wears a red bandana on his head, has a pet parrot that he keeps on his shoulder, and walks around saying, "Arrr matey." 

As if this wasn't strange enough, he also has a really big collection of earrings. Not normal earrings either, weird ones.

He has earrings that look like rocks, wrenches, raccoons, cameras, walrus, and even a pair that look like rakes. I understand that some pirates wear earrings, but I thought they would be scarier like hooks, or circles, or daggers. 

I feel like I should tell my sister's friend to research the type of earrings that pirate's wear. Without the right gear, a person who is trying to look like a pirate will just look strange. If he ever met a real pirate, the pirate would probably make fun of him for how he looked. 

Return to Top of R Words Page

Initial BR by Syllables

breast stroke

breathtaking

British Isles

broken down

Brooklyn Bridge

brotherhood

Brussels sprouts

Medial BR by Syllables

paint brush

white bread

gingerbread

London Bridge

paint brushes

scatterbrain

whole wheat bread

celebration

Golden Gate Bridge

Initial BR Phrases and Sentences

metal bracelet

smart brain

sliced bread

eat breakfast

long bridge

broken plate

big brother

fresh baked brownie

Her grandmother gave her the bracelet.

Her friends say she is a brain.

The bread was cut in slices.

I love bacon, eggs, and orange juice for breakfast.

The bridge connects the two cities.

The plate was broken.

He swept the area with a broom.

He loves his brother.

She had a fresh baked brownie for her treat.

Medial BR Phrases and Sentences

scary cobra

cornbread muffin

bushy eyebrow

fabric store

wood hairbrush

new paintbrush

orange toothbrush

piece of white bread

The cobra wanted to strike.

She had a cornbread muffin for dinner.

He had a bushy eyebrow.

She got her fabric at the store.

She just bought the hairbrush.

Grab a paintbrush and get started.

The dentist gave her a new toothbrush.

I bought a loaf of white bread.

We saw a zebra in the jungle.

BR Reading Paragraphs

Lucky bride.

My brother is getting married on Friday. He wants the wedding day to be perfect for his bride. He is planning to visit her house early and make her breakfast in bed. Two of her favorite things to eat are brownies and cornbread, so he is actually going to make her brownie oatmeal and cornbread muffins. 

She loves zebras and he bought her a picture of a baby zebra from a store, just east of the Brooklyn Bridge. He bought her a beautiful bracelet to wear at the wedding. 

He has other gifts that he wants to bring her, but I told him to wait until after the wedding for some of them. She is really smart so he is getting her a squishy foam brain that she can put on her desk at work. He also wants to give her a new set of paintbrushes for her studio. 

If he treats her this good all of the time, I'm sure she won't break his heart.

World Records

The Guinness Book of World Records is full of amazing facts that will raise your eyebrows. From broken bones to tiny brains, it covers the world's most interesting, fanatical, and dedicated people. 

Some records have never been broken even though many people try. There are records for people who own entire houses full of brown fabric, barns full of toothbrushes, and cars full of moldy white bread. One person holds a record for riding a broom over a thousand miles. 

Some records are held by more than one person. Like the four bread store owners who sold a bridge, or the three brothers who hold a record for having cobras on their head for the longest amount of time. 

Why would anyone wear a cobra on their head? Some might think that is brave, but I would think something was wrong with their brain. 

If you visit a city with a Guinness Book of World Records museum, I recommend getting up early, eating a big breakfast and spending all day in one. You will have fun and wild stories to bring home to your friends and family.

Initial DR by Syllables

drawing board

dressing room

dressing up

driver's seat

driving range

drummer boy

dry cleaner

dramatically

drastically

drawing table

Medial DR by Syllables

fruit drink

eye dropper

hair dresser

lemon drink

line drawing

orange drink

race driver

screwdriver

truck driver

driving safety

lemon-lime drink

overdrawing

pineapple drink

salad dressing

taxi driver

ambulance driver

hydrophobia

hypochondriac

quadrilateral

Initial DR Phrases and Sentences

chinese dragon

draw a picture

night dream

wood dresser

drink water

The statue was of a dragon.

The drain was not clogged.

He started to draw a picture.

She had a happy dream.

The dresser is made of wood.

She wanted to drink water.

The faucet started to drip.

They went for a drive on a dusty road.

The snare drum is played in a marching band.

Medial DR Phrases and Sentences

new address

tidy bedroom

playing children

cherry cough drop

one hundred

laundry basket

heavy raindrops

high snowdrift

light sundress

Every home has a unique address.

I always keep my bedroom tidy.

The children are best friends.

The cough drop made him feel better.

He is one hundred years old today.

The laundry basket is full.

Raindrops are falling on her.

The car was covered by a snowdrift.

She wore her sundress to the beach.

DR Reading Paragraphs

Snowdrift drama.

In the winter, wind blows the snow to create snowdrifts. Some storms are so drastic that snowdrifts bury cars on our street in snow. 

Snowdrifts can be anything you can dream up. The neighborhood children and I always played in snowdrifts around our houses. We would dig the snow out and pretend to drive the drifts like cars. 

I would sit in the driver's seat and my friend Drew would be co-pilot. One time we shaped the snowdrift into the shape of a dragon. Another time, we shaped the snow into a bunch of little drums. 

We would also make snowmen. We took dirty laundry and clothes we found in our dresser drawers, and dressed our snowmen head to toe. 

Once we accidentally used my sister Drea's dress. Drea got pretty mad at us and took her dress to the dry cleaners right away. If you ask me she was a little too dramatic about the whole thing. 

I dreaded that she would tell my mom and I would get in a lot of trouble. I pictured my mom dragging me all over the store to help buy Drea a new dress. Luckily, Drea and I made a deal. I promised to bring her favorite drink to her anytime of the day for one month. 

Now I'm worried I will drop the drinks I take to her.

Unique Drummers

My cousin Drake is a professional drummer. He's not the typical kind of drummer though. At his shows, he and the other drummers will drum on almost anything. 

I have seen them drum on people's drink cups, drill bits, drain pipes, a washer and dryer, and a hundred other things. His drumming group is very entertaining to watch. 

They mostly perform on stage in concert halls. They perform outside concert halls too though. They have performed at a driving range, in someone's bedroom, at a drag race, and at a drugstore. 

The drummers usually don't ask questions about where they play, as long as they get paid for their time. They have dreams to play in New York City some day. The band is saving their money to drive there, but don't have enough yet. 

Next month they are holding a special performance at the drive-in theater. It is a Halloween based concert so one of the band members is going to dress up as Dracula and drum on a mummy. The drummers hope this concert will raise the extra money they need to drive to New York. 

As a band of drummers, they are very driven to meet their goals and dreams. 

That's what it takes to be a performer. 

Initial FR by Syllables

French fries

French toast

fresh water

friendliness

frontal lobe

front runner

frostbitten

fruitfulness

fruit salad

frustrating

frustration

fraternizing

frighteningly

Medial FR by Syllables

girl friend

Good Friday

infringement

refreshments

confrontation

infrequently

refreshingly

refrigerate

San Francisco

South Africa

unfrequented

unfriendliness

unfruitfulness

refractivity

refrigeration

refrigerator

Initial FR Phrases and Sentences

picture frame

freckle face

French fries and Ketchup

delicious french toast

Friday night

best friend

pink frosting 

Her picture was in the frame.

Her freckle face is gorgeous.

Give me a lot of Ketchup for my French fries.

She had French toast for breakfast.

Our date is on Friday night.

He is my best friend.

The frog caught the fly with its tongue.

She wanted pink frosting on her cupcake.

They had their choice of fruit.

Medial FR Phrases and Sentences

kind boyfriend

ugly bullfrog

deep-fry food

cute girlfriend

cut grapefruit

play leapfrog

refresh yourself

beautiful sea front

The thunder scared me and I was afraid.

Her boyfriend is very kind and respectful.

A bullfrog is gross.

Deep-fry foods for a better taste.

I like being with my girlfriend.

I eat grapefruit in the morning.

They are playing leapfrog.

She used the water to refresh herself.

Their house was right on the sea front.

FR Reading Paragraphs

Freaky french toast.

Fran's boyfriend, Fred, enjoyed making her breakfast on Friday.

This Friday he said he would make her French toast with frosting, fruit, and whip cream. Fred's French toast recipe was amazing. It had been passed down from his great grandmother who made French toast in France.

Fred never told anyone the recipe.

All Fran knew was that he deep-fried the bread in a special mixture that had frozen grape juice, cinnamon, and nutmeg in it. The French toast was so good it was freaky.

Being Fred's girlfriend was great and getting French toast every Friday was a huge perk. Fran hoped that Fred would tell her the secret French toast recipe one day.

Until then, she would just enjoy how frequently she could eat them.

Freckle Watcher

In my free time I like to freckle watch. Freckle what? I know, it sounds like a weird hobby. I tried to refrain from it, but the truth is, I can't. I think freckles are so cool.

I have seen freckles that look like frogs, French fries, and even Africa. I get different responses when I ask to see people's freckles. Unfortunately, people aren't always the most friendly when you ask if you can look at their freckles.

Sometimes I go days without looking at any. It can be frustrating. Most people are friendly and unafraid and will show theirs to me. I have made good friends with complete strangers because I asked to see their freckles.

I was introduced to my girlfriend, Francesca, by one stranger. He said Francesca was interested in art and thought freckle shapes would be a fresh idea for one of her projects.

I wouldn't give up my hobby of freckle watching for anything. 

Initial GR by Syllables

grade school

grass snake

ground floor

grandchildren

granddaughter

grandfather

grandmother

grasshopper

Great Britain

grizzle bear

Ground Hog Day

grounds keeper

ground zero

grammatical

grandfather clock

grand piano

great-grandparent

group therapy

Medial GR by Syllables

concord grapes

disgraceful

study group

underground

aggravation

agriculture

congratulate

congregation

disagreement

ingratitude

photographer

ungraciously

agricultural

bibliography

disagreeable

disintegrated

geographical

oceanographer

topographical

undergraduate

ungrammatical

Initial GR Phrases and Sentences

her grandpa

tiny grasshopper

green crayon

brown grizzly bear

cute groundhog

She loves her grandpa.

Grapes come in many colors.

I need to cut the grass.

The grasshopper has big legs.

I always color the grass green.

It is fun to grill in the summer.

The grizzly bear is hungry for fish.

The groundhog came out of its hole.

Medial GR Phrases and Sentences

Let's agree

blue-green feathers

one hundred degrees

white egret

hand engrave

flowery fragrance

hungry birds

migrate north

You shake hands when you agree.

You can see when she is angry.

The bird has blue-green feathers.

One hundred and six degrees is hot.

The egret was walking in the water.

He learned how to engrave from his father.

The perfume had a flowery fragrance.

The baby birds are hungry.

Every year they migrate north.

GR Reading Paragraphs

Hungry grizzly.

My grandpa and I ran away from a grizzly bear in the woods. We were camping near a stream. We had caught some fish and put it on the grill for dinner. When the grizzly ran toward us, grandpa said he could tell it wasn't angry. It was just hungry.

We both agree that the fragrance of the fish was strong and was all the grizzly wanted. We are grateful he wasn't hungry for us and that the fish and our other groceries were enough to gratify his hunger. We are also grateful that we parked our truck close to camp so we could get in it for protection.

It is the best camping story my grandpa and I have together and, even though it was scary, I don't regret going.

Phil the Groundhog

I grew up in a town that has a large group of people who are passionate about our town groundhog Phil.

During the year, Phil meets and greets people at our local library. He lives there in his groundhog habitat. Our town has Groundhog Phil statues all over it to show our pride for Groundhog Day - a bagpipe playing groundhog, statue of liberty groundhog, a mayor groundhog, and a firefighter groundhog to name a few. Phil even has his own official souvenir shop.

Every year on Groundhog Day, we all meet at Gobbler's Knob to see Phil predict the weather. The town officials go on the grandstand and have a ceremony where they talk to Phil and see if we will have a long or short winter.

We have a great time and look forward to it every year. 

Initial CR/KR by Syllables

cream cheese

crow's nest

cruise ship

crackerjack

craftsmanship

crop duster

cross-country

crystallize

chrysanthemum

cracker barrel

cranberry tree

creativeness

credit rating

credit union

critical mass

cross-country skis

cross reference

crossword puzzle

Medial CR/KR by Syllables

bike crossing

double-cross

handcrafted

water craft

increasingly

microscopic

railroad crossing

aircraft carrier

incriminating

micro detector

Initial CR/KR Phrases and Sentences

hard shell crab

start to crawl

box of crayons

crave chocolate

busy crosswalk

start to cry

I think a crab just pinched me.

The wall had a big crack.

The baby just started to crawl.

He shares his box of crayons.

They were acting crazy in the kitchen.

Our crib was hard to put together.

I crave a big chocolate bar.

Cross the street at the crosswalk.

The baby started to cry.

Medial CR/KR Phrases and Sentences

broke and bankrupt

gross cockroach

wet concrete

cold ice cream

messy packrat

soft pie crust

garden scarecrow

tell the secret

fluffy whip cream

The company went bankrupt last month.

Do you see that cockroach?

Sidewalks are made out of concrete.

Here is your bowl of ice cream.

He is a packrat, he keeps everything.

Wrap the pie crust around the dish.

The scarecrow keeps birds away from the garden.

She is telling her a secret.

May I have some whip cream on my pie?

CR/KR Reading Paragraphs

Ice cream cake.

The ice cream cake was melted all over the floor. Kristina's party had gone perfectly until her friend, Crystal, had forgot to put the ice cream cake in the freezer. Kristina wanted to cry! She had been craving ice cream cake for days. It was her favorite ice cream cake - mint with cookie crust, topped with whip cream and cherries.

She wanted to try and save the cake, but a cockroach had crawled into it and then hid in a crack in the wall. Cockroaches drove her crazy and it made her feel worse about losing the ice cream cake.

"I'll go buy another one," said Crystal. She ran outside, crossed the street, and went to the cake shop. She was back in minutes with a new ice cream cake - mint with cookie crust, topped with whip cream and cherries. It was exactly like the one that melted.

"How did you get another one so fast?" Kristina asked.

"I have a secret to tell you," Crystal responded, "I had two cakes made just in case something like this happened. I forget to do stuff like this all the time. I would probably go bankrupt if I bought ice cream cakes all the time. Thank goodness I don't!"

Crystal, Kristina, and their friends laughed and all enjoyed a slice of ice cream cake.

Creative Uncle Creed

People I know say my Uncle Creed is crazy. He lives across from the beach. Every day he goes to the beach and finds crabs. Then he takes them home and puts them in a crib.

Not a box, not a cage, a crib.

Then he takes crayons and colors the tops of their shells.

"When the crabs move around they create what I call 'moving art'," he says. Some call it crazy, I call it creative.

He also collects scarecrows, broken pieces of concrete, crumbs, and fake crystals. He keeps them all in crates in his front yard, but I don't know where he gets them all from. People call him a packrat, but they shouldn't criticize. We all collect "stuff."

He has done some pretty incredible things. He has given a crow a bath in a creek, fed a cricket cream cheese, and crawled on cranberries to make his own cranberry sauce.

He is amazing at crossword puzzle. It has never taken him more than two minutes to finish any crossword.

He is building his own spacecraft too - not to go to space, just to learn how to build one.

People call me crazy, but I want to be like my Uncle Creed some day.

Initial PR by Syllables

prescription

practical joke

practically

praying mantis

prehistoric

preparation

preposition

presentable

presentation

professional

proposition

prehistorical

preparatory

prepositional

probability

productivity

pronunciation

Medial PR by Syllables

sound proof

fingerprint

improvement

low pressure

mispronounce

appropriate

approximate

April Fools Day

disapproval

life preserver

vice president

word processor

appreciation

impressionable

inappropriate

interpretation

representative

uncompromising

unprecedented

Initial PR Phrases and Sentences

pray quietly

fierce predator

nice present

salty pretzel

cute princess

desk printer

win the prize

She kneeled by her bed to pray.

Predators are animals that hunt for their food. 

He has a small present.

We bought a pretzel at the store.

This coat has a high price.

She is wearing a princess crown.

Will you please fix our printer?

He won the prize.

He is proud of his paper.

Medial PR Phrases and Sentences

approved message

ripe apricot

month of April

cook's apron

architect blueprint

ink fingerprint

making a footprint

be surprised

waterproof boots

The business request was approved.

An apricot is delicious.

My birthday is in April.

The cook had an apron on to keep clean.

The architect created the blueprint.

Security clearance requires a fingerprint card.

She left a footprint in the sand.

He was surprised when he opened the gift.

His yellow boots are waterproof.

PR Reading Paragraphs

Pretzel prank.

You have heard the story of the princess who pricked her finger. This is the story of the prince who ate a pretzel.

Everyone in the kingdom loved the prince. He was proud of his kingdom. He protected the people and ruled with humility. The people gave him presents. The people in the kingdom rarely had any problems with one another.

Once when the prince was in the marketplace, he bought and ate a pretzel from one of the shops. While eating the pretzel, there was a puff of smoke, and then the people saw a prune on the ground. The people gasped and didn't know what to do. They asked the man who sold the prunes what they could do, but he didn't know.

Finally, someone stepped out of the crowd revealed the prince high up on the castle wall. "It was just a prank," he said, "The prince is not a prune. We played a magic trick on you."

The people all breathed a sigh of relief and were happy to have their prince back.

Predators and Prey

Predators are animals that hunt for their food. Prey are the animals that predators try to eat.

Typically, predators will prowl around and watch their prey to see what kind of movements they make. Even though prey are the animals being hunted, they are not dumb. Many types of prey are pretty smart.

For example, prairie dogs use a variety of pitched, warning barks to warn each other of different predators. Some birds will protect their eggs by pretending to be hurt. This lure predators away from their eggs.

Both predators and prey have their own problems. Predators don't always know if they will eat and prey don't always know if they will live. Personally, I'm glad I can go to the store to get my food. 

Initial TR by Syllables

train station

transcribing

transferring

translation

transmission

treacherous

treasure chest

treasure hunt

trustworthy

traditional

tranquility

transatlantic

transferable

transitional

transparency

transportation

tribulation

traditionally

transcontinental

triangulation

trigonometry

Medial TR by Syllables

concentrate

country club

railroad track

rainbow trout

state trooper

subtraction

catastrophe

concentration

contribution

controversy

electronics

entrepreneur

extravagant

illustrated

introduction

no trespassing

remote control

St. Patrick's Day

ventriloquist

electricity

metropolitan

pediatrician

Initial TR Phrases and Sentences

red tractor

horse trailer

hidden treasure

silver truck

loud trumpet

The tractor helps plant the crops.

They pulled the trailer into the yard.

The train was moving fast.

Take the trash out today.

The pirates found the hidden treasure.

The tree was 50 feet tall.

He rode his trike in the driveway.

A silver truck drives by.

He practiced the trumpet in the living room.

Medial TR Phrases and Sentences

stage actress

red fire truck

good orchestra

short pinetree

horse race track

down the railroad track

old remote control

subtract numbers

nice waitress

The actress rehearsed for her performance.

The fire truck was standing by in case of a fire.

The orchestra will perform tonight.

The snow had fallen on the tree.

The horses ran fast down the race track.

The railroad track turns at the mountain.

I use the remote control to fly the plane.

You need to subtract for these problems.

The waitress took her order.

TR Reading Paragraphs

Tracy's training.

Tracy was an actress and she was going to be in a movie about farms. To play her role, she had to learn to drive a tractor, clean a pig trough, take out trash, and hike on trails during short camping trips. But that was just the beginning of the things she needed to learn.

She put a lot of trust in Troy, the farmer who taught her how to do these things. She grew up in a big city and never had the type of training that Troy gave her.

In the beginning, Tracy thought living on a farm in the country, driving a truck, and living in a trailer would be a tough transition. It didn't take her long to realize how much hard work living on a farm was.

She learned how to trust others, work hard, and even jump on a trampoline. After she finished filming the movie, she had a lot of great memories and thought to herself, "I wouldn't have traded anything for this experience."

Caution! Train Tracks

Tre rode his trike all over the neighborhood. He did just what his mom asked. "Stay in control, don't do tricks, and never go near the train tracks," she said.

One day when Tre was out riding, he heard the siren on a fire truck. Tre rode his trike as fast as he could toward the sound. Just before he got to the train tracks, he saw the fire truck. Then he saw another thing that looked like a truck. It was smashed everywhere.

Tre saw someone close by and asked what had happened.

"The truck got stuck on the train tracks," the man said. "Luckily he got out before the train hit the car," he continued, "That would have been tragic."

Tre realized right then why his mom had warned him to stay away from the train tracks.

He had wanted to try and ride over the tracks just to see if he could, without getting into trouble. He was glad he had listened and not tried.

"Train tracks are dangerous," Tre said. From then on Tre watched the train go by from the tree house in his yard. That was close enough for him.

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

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

Home practice will make progress toward meeting individual language goals much faster.

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 "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 "R" error because he/she continues to say it incorrectly. 

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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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