Struggling with R-Controlled Spelling? Try These UFLI-Inspired Word Charts for ar, or, er, ir, and ur, which are colorful and engaging visuals for targeted spelling support.
These word lists are an easy, no-prep solution for transitioning quickly between different small reading group lessons and wall displays. The students find them visually engaging, and they are handy to have in the classroom near the reading group. The R-controlled spelling charts feature:
Word lists are sorted in a similar fashion to UFLI lessons 77-83
Make R-Controlled Vowels Fun! Low-Prep Clip Cards for Spelling Practice.
Spelling Test Practice Made Easy – R-Controlled Vowel Clip Cards (ar, or, er, ir, ur). Lately, I’ve noticed several educators questioning whether spelling tests are still an effective learning tool. This concern often stems from students disliking them or seeing little value in the process—especially when they memorize weekly word lists, only to forget them soon after. So, what is a solution that supports both the student and teacher with long-term gains?
As a young student, I remember learning the list of the week and forgetting it by the end of the month. As an educator, I have made it a point to serve up the spelling lessons in target groups of spelling-related skills that scaffold and support the student with explicit, systematic and cumulative approaches that are fun and not soul-crushing tests. One example is the R-controlled words. After teaching an R-controlled lesson and reading, there is always time left for a game with the same skills and later an R-controlled spelling test for monitoring the students’ gains and needs. By using clip cards, the students can focus on the targeted skills without distraction or shame. Using cards with pictures makes this feel like a game instead of a test.
Gamification of the R-controlled words with these cards is engaging and tactile for the students. They can be used before or after small reading groups, as centers or part of a diagnostic intervention strategy. Another fun R-controlled game is the Uno-style R-controlled game. This game has color-coded cards that can be easily sorted to be responsive to the student’s level of need. We often sort them into groups and practice with just /ar/ and /or/, the secondary group is /er/, /ir/ and /ur/, then finally play the complete game with all the R-controlled letters for review.
There are other ways to use the clip cards:
They can be laminated and students can circle the correct answer.
Students can have spelling races and write the correct spelling on the whiteboard table. * They love this one.
They can write on paper, using the cards as a guide.
They can be displayed on the class TV and let students write or type their answers.
While exploring the invention units, I noticed that my students respond really well to picture-embedded letters and word lists. I find them incredibly helpful for staying organized. These visual anchor charts are a valuable resource to have on hand during R-controlled vowel lessons. They are influenced the UFLI lessons 77-83.
Educational games do more than entertain—they train the brain. When students play spelling games that sort words by vowel teams or consonant blends, or adapt to changing rules in card games like Crazy Eights and UNO, they’re developing cognitive flexibility. This skill helps them switch between tasks, adjust to new information, and think creatively—making them more adaptable learners both in and out of the classroom.
How Educational Games Foster Cognitive Flexibility in Students
In today’s dynamic learning environments, educational games are proving to be more than just fun—they’re essential tools for cognitive development. One critical skill they nurture is cognitive flexibility, the mental ability to switch between thinking about two different concepts or to think about multiple concepts simultaneously. This skill is crucial not only for academic success but also for navigating everyday challenges.
Spelling games, for instance, offer powerful cognitive training. When students sort words by multiple attributes—like beginning sounds, syllable count, or spelling patterns—they’re engaging in flexible thinking. A game might challenge them to group words by vowel teams in one round, and then by consonant blends in the next. This kind of task-switching encourages students to adapt their mental strategies, boosting their ability to pivot between rules and patterns.
Color-coded phonics games also can enhance cognitive agility. Matching games that combine vowel teams (like “ea” in “bread” or “ee” in “tree”) or consonant blends (like “tr” or “bl”) with colorful cues help students create flexible associations. They learn to recognize that one sound can appear in different letter combinations and that the same visual cue may apply to multiple sounds depending on context.
CVC Uno-style game. Build cognitive flexibility with the foundational short vowel sounds.
Even classic card games adapted for the classroom, such as Crazy Eights or UNO, can be educationally potent. These games require players to respond quickly to changing rules. Like changing suit, color, or numbers, Which mirrors the kind of flexible thinking needed in learning environments. When teachers modify these games to include vocabulary, math facts, or grammar prompts. Students can seamlessly blend content learning with cognitive skill-building.
Incorporating such games into the curriculum provides students with playful, engaging opportunities to practice adapting, shifting, and applying knowledge in real-time. The result? Stronger minds, sharper problem-solvers, and learners who can think on their feet. This Uno-style CVC game is a simple tool for practicing the basic
UFLI inspired anchor charts with words lists and picture embedded vowel teams. Visual aids for quick spelling lessons helps to draw students into reading with well organized spelling patterns.
Word list with the extra picture embedded phonics images.
Spelling cheat sheet that students love to read. Grouped by sounds to help students remember spelling patterns. Amazing anchor charts.
Plural suffix endings S ES IES VES & more. Organized reference materials with word lists, spelling rules, and engaging picture-embedded phonics posters and cards.
Included-
S – Unvoiced
S – Voiced /z/
ES – Voiced /z/
IES – Voiced /z/
VES – Voiced /z/ – change /f/ to /v/
Bonus Doubling Rule (+y, +ed, +er, +ing, +est)
Lessons 44, 54-59 & more. K sound endings
k, ck, ke, ic,
Are the students struggling with when to use ck, ke, k, or ic when writing words? Final k sounds can be tricky. There are some spelling rules to teach them about vowel sounds, vowel teams, multi-syllable words, and the suffix -ic. Posters with word lists, picture-embedded letters and color-coded word spelling words.
You get 4 posters – They can be printed on double-sided.
Learning soft c & g can be tricky! Knowing the patterns can help.
These anchor charts have mnemonic picture-embedded letters, word lists, and spelling tips to help learn and remember some of the soft c & g tricks.
The vowels e, i, y, are very important to the spelling pattern.
Anchor charts have colorful visual reminders and word lists that follow the same spelling pattern. Some have spelling tips and clues to help teach this as a lesson or to place it in the classroom as a reference guide, with some homophones included.
UFLI lessons 58, 89, 90, 91 +more “ui” spellings
Vowel teams ue, ew, u-e, u, have 2 long u sounds. The tricky spelling is organized on reference posters with word lists, spelling rules, and engaging picture-embedded phonics posters and cards. Great companion materials for
Great resource to support the many spellings of “air”. Spelling are, ear – Lesson 112, plus more eir, err, arr, ere, & ur. Colorful picture embedded letters (phonographs) and word lists. NO PREP! Easy to help reinforce the trigraph r-controlled vowel teams. Full of homophone words.
How to teach the heart words just got easier with this mapping manual for teachers. Decoding and encoding by the spelling patterns. Sound articulations and spelling rules all organized in one place.
Detailed sight word mapping by sounds, with articulation support.
Help is at your fingertips with these colorful tabs on the teacher’s manual. Low Prep organized Teacher’s Guide. Support your students by explicitly teaching heart word mapping sorted by sounds. Differentiated levels, cumulative instruction, phonics, and spelling patterns. Student worksheets. Articulation images with detailed explanations. Great for reading intervention!
Heart words grouped by the sounds make it easier for students to practice and retain the information.
Unique Heart Word Decoding Elkonin Boxes
Full Red Heart – Focused heart sound skill
Heart Outlines– Previously learned pattern
Green line – Decodable sound
Green line with a Dark outline – Long vowel that says its name
White line with X – silent letter
Articulation Instruction
Mouth image with airflow lines
Voiced and unvoiced marking under bottom lip ~
Detailed descriptions of lip and mouth movements
Helpful descriptions of sound: bursts, vibrates, air pushes
Spelling Patterns – Tabs
Vowel Sounds, Schwa, 2 Long u sounds, Digraphs, R-Controlled, R-Trigraph, consonants, th/th voiced and unvoiced, wh
Consonants – Begin c, k, ending ck, ending k, ke, ic, soft & hard g, dge, ending l, ll, le
more
s = z sound
The suffix – ed has 3 sounds
contractions
tricky Y
more
How will this help you?
Well-organized resource. Easy to grab and teach with No-prep work.
Heart Words are orthographicly mapped for you. Explicit phonics.
Code-based spelling instruction.
Color-coded decodable sounds are green or darker outlines for long vowels.
Heart Words and decodable words are grouped together by similar sounds, which makes teaching them easy and sound-focused.
Sound checks on the back cover.
Vowel articulation on the last page.
Detailed sound articulation directions are at your fingertips.
Student worksheets are versatile to use. Follow the link to see the video.
Cumulative Instruction
Heart Words and High-frequency words grouped by sounds are presented in a sequential and cumulative format.
Starting with the simplest words first and then progressing to more advanced words.
Example – short a
at,
an,
and,
am,
as * ( this one is the heart sound, s = z) The other words were decodable.
This is an easy no-prep whiteboard game that we did the other day. We simply used some words from the UFLI lesson 107 suffix spelling changes roll and read. They had to remember to erase the double consonants and the suffix.
Students are challenged to find the hidden root words.
Added suffixes seem to come very naturally when we are speaking, but it grows more challenging when we need to spell or read these longer words.
Students are often intimidated by the length of a word. They often say “I don’t know” or “I can’t.” too quickly. Plural words and past tense words may be some of the first words they will encounter. I have made fun games for both of those skills.
This is an easy no-prep whiteboard game that we did the other day. I simply used some words from the UFLI lesson 107 suffix spelling changes. I wrote the words on the board and then the four students took turns trying to find the main root word. All the words that I chose had the double consonant pattern.
I used simple words like bag, pop, slip, win, and more…
The girls enjoyed it so much that we had to adapt the game and play it again the next day.
There are a lot of spelling skills that you can teach with just the suffix -ed.
th, wh, w Heart Words. By focusing on a target skill, teaching these sight words can be easier for some students. Instead of choosing random sight words that may span over many new skills and spelling patterns. Choosing similar words will help them focus on what they are learning and help them escape the guessing game. I have found this very helpful strategy during reading intervention, especially with dyslexic students.
There are some tricky sight words that may leave many students guessing. Without lots of heart word practice, they may be relying on predictive reading strategies.
What is a heart word? Simply put and heart word is very much like a Sight Word, or a High-Frequency Word with one expectation. The heart word has at least one part of the word that needs to be memorized by heart.
The word they.
The word (they) may be decodable for more advanced students who know that the /th/ is a digraph and sometimes the letters /ey/ can make the long /a/ sound as in the word obey. For other students, the word (they) could be overwhelming as they try to decode four letters that are not making their normal letter sounds.
Grouping th, wh, and w, Words Together
By focusing on a target skill, teaching these sight words can be easier for some students. Instead of choosing random sight words that may span over many new skills and spelling patterns. Choosing similar words will help them focus on what they are learning and help them escape the guessing game. I have found this very helpful strategy during reading intervention, especially with dyslexic students.
th wh w uno targeted heart words. Pure Joy Teaching
Wh, and w – usually make the same /w/ sound. Except for words like: who, whom, whose, and whole. In the game, these words are wild cards, because the /wh/ is now making the tricky /h/ sound. This may be hard for ESL students to understand when they read these words in isolation or come across them in text. That is why this game is so helpful. It gives them advanced practice with these spelling patterns. Notice that they all have the letter /o/ after the /wh/.
Do you need help understanding how to teach the SCHWA Spelling pattern?
Surprise! There are a few tricks to this spelling pattern that can make it easier to teach and fun for students to learn.
Do you need help understanding how to teach the SCHWA Spelling pattern?
Surprise! There are a few tricks to this spelling pattern that can make it easier to teach and fun for students to learn.
Kids love to play games. This Schwa UNO-style game has a very predictable sound pattern. All the words have at least one short /u/ sound. It is not just the final letter /a/ that can make the schwa sound as in: pizza, tuna, and comma.
The truth is any of the vowels can make the schwa sound. So be on the lookout and listen for all the vowel patterns in this game. Vowels: a, e, i, & o, might be making the short /u/ sound.
Letter a
was
what
grandma
about
The vowel /a/ might make the schwa sound, it can be in any position in a word. It may depend on your country, region, or dialect of English. It is often called the lazy /a/ sound. The open-mouth schwa sound is easier to say.
Letter e
The
the
The vowel /e/ may be the first schwa sound word that trips up the young student decoder. Letters /th/ are a digraph that they might know, but then the letter /e/ changes and is now making the schwa sound. In the game, there are both capital and lowercase cards for /the/.
Letter o
love
other
done
some
of
The vowel /o/ makes the schwa sound more often than you might think. There is a very predictable spelling pattern for some of the words. When the vowel letter /o/ is followed by: v, m, n, or th, it might make the schwa sound.
v, m, n, th
Examples are these words: oven, love, glove, and shovel.
Super Easy. Low Prep Art, Lable, and Writing Lesson.
Have your students ever been upset when they had to put Mr. Potato Head away? Or when they had to share it. You can take a picture of it. Or they can draw their picture, write about it, and label it.
We only had one potato head in our preschool classroom. I always thought we needed more. A good substitution is a large amount of homemade playdough, or these playdough mats.
These worksheets can help you turn a silly toy into a model for a class drawing and writing with very little prep. Get your free worksheets here.
A book about drawing that your students may like in your classroom is:
