Introducing the /er/ Triplets

At Hope-Hill Elementary in Atlanta, first-grade teacher Taura Dorsey and her students take on the challenge of the /er/ triplets – ‘er’, ‘ir’, and ‘ur’. These three phonics patterns are hard to spell because they all make the same /er/ sound. After explicit instruction, Ms. Dorsey has students practice by spelling words like bird and turn – and phrases such as "got a sunburn.” Learn more about about the bossy ‘r’ in our free r-controlled vowels skill explainer at https://readinguniverse.org/skill-explainer/phonics-patterns/r-controlled-vowels-skill-explainer/an-overview-of-r-controlled-vowels. ——— Please like and subscribe to our channel. We’ll be adding more videos soon! Visit https://www.ReadingUniverse.org for more about teaching reading and writing. Reading Universe is an online, step-by-step pathway for teachers, paraprofessionals, and reading coaches to learn more about evidence-based reading instruction and then translate it into classroom practice that will complement any curriculum. Reading Universe is a new service of WETA/Reading Rockets, the Barksdale Reading Institute (BRI), and First Book. We are deeply grounded in the remarkable story of BRI, founded in 2000 by Jim Barksdale to advance literacy in his home state of Mississippi. Historically ranked at or near the bottom in terms of reading achievement, Mississippi’s rankings have improved dramatically over the last decade; and the state has made more progress in its reading scores than any other. Reading Universe shares with educators everywhere the teaching practices that Mississippi developed so painstakingly…so that each of us can do what it takes to ensure that more children become skilled and joyful young readers. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale; the Hastings/Quillin Fund, the AFT; the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation; and anonymous donors.