3rd Grade
Speech & Language
About 10 minutes

R Sound Words

Say each word with a strong sound. Color a star every time you say it.

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This is sheet #91024601.

How to do it

Say the picture's name. Listen for the r sound.
Say it 5 times with a strong r.
Color a star each time you say it.

Teaching tip

Pull the tongue back and growl like a tiger: grrr.

R Sound Words worksheet for 3rd grade (sounds r and th), free printable — Printable preview

About this worksheet

Twelve picture words with the r sound at the start, middle or end. The letters that make the sound are underlined.

What kids practice

These sheets give kids short, fun practice with two speech sounds that are among the last many children learn: r (as in rabbit) and th (as in thumb). Some kids are still working on them in 3rd grade. Kids who are practicing r often say w instead (wabbit for rabbit). Kids who are practicing th often say f, t or d instead (fumb for thumb, tink for think, dis for this). Common Core doesn't cover speech sounds, so these sheets have no Common Core code.

Watch for

Listening to spelling instead of sound. Wr in wreath makes the r sound.
Rounding the lips on r so it sounds like w. A small smile helps.
Biting down hard on th. The tongue rests gently between the teeth, and the air flows out slowly.
Forgetting that r after a vowel changes the vowel (car, bird, door). Those words are practiced on the Vowel R page in the R set.
If your child is hard to understand or gets frustrated when talking, ask your pediatrician or a speech-language pathologist for a check.

It's free to print, as many copies as you need. See the full sounds r and th guide for 3rd grade.