What Is Vocalic R in Speech Therapy?
If your child is working on the R sound in speech therapy, you may have heard the term “Vocalic R.”
But what does that mean?
The R sound is one of the trickiest sounds for children to master. While some kids learn to say /r/ in words like red or run, they may still struggle when /r/ comes after a vowel—like in car, bird, or ear. That’s what speech therapists call vocalic R (sometimes called “R-controlled vowels”).
In these words, the vowel and the /r/ sound blend together, making it harder to separate and pronounce clearly.
Many children substitute another sound (like “cah” for car).
Today, we’ll practice six words that each focus on a different vowel + R combination.
“Er” - as in return
“Air” - as in chair
“Are” - as in star
“Ear” - as in hear
“Ire” - as in higher
“Or” - as in door
Vocalic “er” Word - Return
Use the word “return” to say these phrases and sentences.
Return the tray.
Return the book.
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Return the equipment.
He returned the lunch tray.
Please return the book to the cart.
They returned the equipment after PE.
Vocalic “air” Word - Chair
Match the picture to the sentence.
He stood beside the chair.
His backpack is in front of the chair.
The books are under the chair.
The backpack is on the chair.
The chair is under the bookshelf.
The boy is behind the chair.
Vocalic “are” Word - Star
Find the stars that match and tell what objects each star shape looks like.
Then, make up a sentence for each pair, for example, “These stars are shaped like a magnifying glass.”
Vocalic “ear” Word - Hear
Kids hear a lot of sounds at school.
Make a sentence for each of these school sounds.
“He hears ______”
“She hears ______”
clapping
playing
laughing
stapling paper
sharpening a pencil
rolling dice
talking
the school bell
a school bus
Vocalic “ire” Word - Higher
It’s time to get these school supplies off the shelf.
Make a sentence to tell which one is on the "higher”, for example, “The tape is higher than the pencils.”
Vocalic “or” Word - Door
Practice in words: Say the word door as you point to each picture.
Practice in phrases: Is there “one door” or “two doors” in each picture?
Practice in sentences: Find the picture that matches each sentence.
Our teacher decorated the classroom door.
Our classroom is next door to the principal
She opens the door to greet us.
I walk through the door right on time.
Mixed Vocalic R Words - School Supplies
Look at this desk full of school supplies.
Listen for which vocalic “r” sound you hear in each word.
Do you hear the “er”, “air”, “are”, “ear”, “ire”, or “or” sound?
School Supplies
clipboard
paperclip
marker
binder
geoboard
paper
stapler
eraser
scissors
sharpener
folder
index card
ruler
What do you notice about these words?
Were there any that sounded different than how they were spelled?
Did you hear all of the vocalic R sounds?
Was there a sound you heard a lot?
Answers
clipboard - or
paperclip - er
marker - are, er
binder - er
geoboard - or
paper - er
stapler - er
eraser - er
scissors - er
sharpener, - er
folder - er
index card - are
ruler - er