Car, Corn, Tiger: R-Controlled Vowels ar, or and er

About This Resource

A complete Grade 2 ESL phonics pack on the r-controlled vowels ar (car, shark), or (corn, horse) and er (her, tiger). Children hear how r changes the vowel sound, name pictures by their sound, sort words into ar, or and er, read and complete sentences and write their own sentences. Includes slides, a lesson plan, worksheet, quiz, homework, flashcards, a rubric and answer keys.

Overview

When the letter r comes after a vowel, it changes the vowel sound. The a in cat sounds different from the ar in car, and the o in hot sounds different from the or in corn. Children learn three r-controlled spellings: ar as in car and shark, or as in corn and horse, and er as in her and at the end of words like tiger and letter. They listen for the sound, match pictures and words, sort words into three groups, read sentences and write sentences of their own.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: R-Controlled Vowels ar, or and er
Category: Phonics
File Type: PDF
File Size: 347.5 KB
Published: 12 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 2 ESL (ages 7–8), A1 45 minutes Phonics listening speaking reading spelling writing

Learning Objectives

Hear and say the ar, or and er sounds.
Read and spell words with ar, or and er.
Sort words by their r-controlled vowel.

How to Use This Resource

Show the slides. Compare cat and car, hot and corn. Ask: "What changed the sound?"
Do worksheet activities 1 and 2 together, saying each word aloud.
Children complete activities 3 to 6, then use the quiz and take home the homework page.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Sound actions: children drive a car for ar, eat corn for or and roar like a tiger for er when they hear each sound.
Word sort race: groups sort word cards into ar, or and er boxes.
Silly sentences: children write a sentence with one word from each group, for example: The farmer saw a shark in the storm.

Differentiation

Support: focus on ar and or first and use picture cards for every word. Challenge: children find words with ir and ur that have the same sound as er (bird, turn).

Assessment

Use the worksheet and quiz to check reading and spelling of ar, or and er words. Use the rubric while children read flashcards and share their sentences.

Teacher Tips

The ar, or and er sounds are pronounced differently in different English accents; in some accents the r is not heard. Teach the spelling patterns and accept the accent children hear most. Remind children that er often comes at the end of a word (teacher, sister).

What's Included

10-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (8 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Quiz / assessment (3 parts)
Homework practice page
Printable flashcards: 8 A5 picture cards (separate PDF)
Assessment rubric (4 levels)
Lesson slides (editable PowerPoint)
Editable Word version of all student pages
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)

Additional Files

Lesson Slides (PPTX)
Editable Student Pages and Lesson Plan (DOCX)
A5 Flashcards (PDF)
Answer Key (PDF)

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