The phonics r sound is the fifth sound of Jolly Phonics Group 2 — c, k, e, h, r, m, d — typically introduced in Reception or kindergarten, around age 4 to 5.
Fair warning: this is one of the trickiest sounds for young mouths to master, and that’s completely normal — some children are still refining it well past kindergarten. Below is the official action, word lists, a story, and a free worksheet.
How to Make the /r/ Sound
/r/ is a voiced, continuous sound: the tongue tip curls up toward the roof of the mouth without touching it, the lips round slightly, and the throat buzzes. Because it’s one of the last sounds children master in speech, patience matters more than repetition drills here. The Jolly Phonics action is to pretend to be a puppy holding a rag in its teeth, shaking your head from side to side while growling rrrr.
Many young children swap /r/ for /w/ or /l/ — “wabbit” for rabbit is one of the most common substitutions out there, and it’s simply a sign the mouth muscles for /r/ haven’t finished developing yet. Model the sound clearly and let it come with time rather than correcting every attempt.
R Words for Practice
/r/ at the start
- rat
- red
- run
- rug
- rock
- rain
- road
- rope
/r/ in the middle
- carrot
- arrow
- parrot
- mirror
- cherry
- berry
Why there is no “/r/ at the end” list
In Jolly Phonics, an r after a vowel is not taught as /r/ at all. Words like car, star, door and hair belong to the later digraph sounds /ar/, /or/ and /air/, so keep /r/ practice to the beginning and middle of words for now, and save those endings for when your child reaches Group 7.
Blend these one sound at a time: r-a-t → rat, r-e-d → red, r-u-g → rug, r-a-n → ran.
Story Time: Caught by Surprise
Danny was playing at the park, kicking his ball through a pretend jungle of bushes, when it rolled out of sight. He ran after it, faster and faster, and as he got close he heard a low growl: “rrrrrrrrrrr.” Danny froze for a second — until his friends popped out from behind a bush, laughing. It had been them the whole time, growling like puppies to give him a scare. Danny laughed too, once his heart stopped racing, and the group spent the rest of the afternoon taking turns making the silliest rrrr sound they could.
Four Quick Activities
- Sound hunt (2 minutes): look around the house for things that start with /r/, like a rabbit toy, a ring or a rug.
- Puppy shake (2 minutes): hold a soft toy or a cloth like a rag in your teeth, shake your head, and growl rrrr together.
- Listen and mark (3 minutes): use the picture below, say each word slowly, and ask your child to mark it only when they hear /r/ at the start.
- Build a word (5 minutes): use the flashcards below to spell rat — r, a, t — sounding out each letter before blending.
See the full phase 2 phonics flashcards set for more words to build.
Download the Free Jolly Phonics 42 Sounds Chart
Get all 42 Jolly Phonics letter sounds on one free printable chart PDF — in teaching order with an example word for every sound.
Trace the Letter R
To trace the letter r you can see our: Free!- Printable Letter R r Tracing Worksheets
Our printable animal-tracing sheet adds extra guided practice once your child can already form r on their own.
Watch: The /r/ Sound Close Up
Before and After /r/ in Group 2
/r/ follows the /h/ sound and comes right before the /m/ sound in Group 2. See the Jolly Phonics complete guide for the full teaching order.
Frequently asked questions
Why can’t my child say /r/ properly yet?
/r/ is one of the last sounds children master in speech, so saying “wabbit” for rabbit or similar substitutions at age 4 to 5 is completely normal and usually improves with time.
What is the Jolly Phonics action for /r/?
Pretend to be a puppy holding a rag in its teeth, shaking your head from side to side while growling rrrr.
How is /r/ different from /w/ and /l/?
For /r/ the tongue tip curls up without touching the roof of the mouth; for /l/ it presses against the ridge behind the top teeth, and /w/ uses rounded lips with no tongue movement at all.
Which sound comes after /r/ in Jolly Phonics?
The /m/ sound follows /r/, continuing Group 2 alongside c, k, e, h and d.
