/r/ Medial — Spelling
Articulation · Grades 1–4 · 12 cards
Session summary (SOAP)
Stays on this screen. Nothing is saved or sent.
Mark a card Correct, Correct with cue or Incorrect and the summary writes itself here.
How to run it
Split into syllables aloud before building. Carrot, arrow, parrot, berry, cherry and mirror double the r after a short vowel; fairy, pirate, syrup, zero, hero and earring do not. Ask which the word needs before the student builds it, so the pattern gets applied rather than remembered. Keep asking for the production between letters.
Cueing ladder
Start at the top. Add support one step at a time.
- IndependentAfter building each word, the student says it aloud. Wait 3 seconds.Log as correct
- Visual cuePoint to your mouth, or show the mouth picture for /r/, before the student tries again.Log as cued
- Verbal modelSay the word; the student says it right after you.Log as cued
- Placement cueSides of your tongue up against your top back teeth, tip either lifted and pulled back or pointed down with the tongue bunched up. Lips slightly rounded, and the tip never touches the roof.Log as cued
Adjust it
Drop to syllables ('ra' and 'ree'), or use fewer cards.
Put each word in a short carrier phrase with no /r/ in it or mix in /r/ words from another position.
Matching IEP goal
Given word cards, Student will produce /r/ in the word-medial position in single words in 8 of 10 opportunities across 3 consecutive sessions, given no more than a visual cue.
Send it home through the parent portal →About this activity
The twelve medial /r/ words — carrot, arrow, parrot, berry, cherry, fairy, pirate, mirror, syrup, zero, hero, earring — as a spelling task. Derived from the flashcard deck, and the spellings are varied enough to be worth attention: half double the r and half do not, and the difference follows the vowel before it.
What to listen for
Watch the doubling rule holding. It is the same short-vowel doubling that governs ll, gg and tt, and a student who has met it elsewhere should recognise it here. Notice earring, which doubles for a different reason — it is ear plus ring, a compound — and is worth showing as a compound rather than as a spelling rule.
Carrying it home
Ask whether a word has one r or two. Carrot against fairy is a clean pair, and the vowel before it gives the answer, which is a rule a child can apply themselves once shown.
What's in this activity
- carrot
- arrow
- parrot
- berry
- cherry
- fairy
- pirate
- mirror
- syrup
- zero
- hero
- earring
Questions
- How is this different from the flashcards?
- Same twelve words, built from letters. The doubling pattern only matters in spelling, so this version teaches something reading does not.
- Is it free?
- Yes, no account needed.
- Why does 'earring' have two r's?
- Because it is two words joined — ear and ring — rather than a doubling rule. It is worth teaching as a compound so the student does not look for a vowel rule that is not operating.
Use this board with your caseload
With a free account, every correct, cued and incorrect mark is saved to the student and scored against their IEP goal, with the data written up for you. Assign it as home practice through the parent portal.
Track progress freeFree for SLPs. No card, no trial clock.