This week in phonics and spelling, students are being introduced to “bossy r” (also called r-controlled vowels, vocalic r, or combination vowels). First graders will learn “bossy r” is bossy but polite. It lets the vowel go first, but it doesn’t let it say its sound.
Today, students were introduced to er, ir, and ur, as we learned they all make the same sound. We then brainstormed and selected 5 words with the each the er, ir, and ur spelling pattern. Since the er spelling of “bossy r” is the most common, students will be encouraged to use this pattern as the first choice when making an educated guess of how to spell a word.