400+ Prevocalic R Words List for Speech Therapy - Speech Therapy Store (2024)

Speech Therapy Store is dedicated to making your speech therapy life easier one resource at a time. To do this, we often partner with companies that share that mission. If you sign up or make a purchase through one of our partners’ links, we may receive compensation—at no extra cost to you.

As speech-language pathologists, we know that certain speech sounds can be more challenging for some individuals to produce than others. One such sound is the prevocalic r, which is the r sound that occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable.

The production of this sound involves the coordination of the lips, tongue, and vocal cords, making it a complex sound to master.

I mean what speech therapist doesn’t love working on the pesky sound of /r/?!

If you are a speech therapist or parent looking for prevocalic r words to practice with your child or student then this blog post is just what you need! It has over 400 prevocalic r words that will help strengthen your child or student’s /r/ sound.

Key Takeaways

• Prevocalic r is a complex sound that can be challenging for some individuals to produce.
• Correct production of prevocalic r is crucial for effective communication in the English language.
• Speech-language pathologists can use a variety of techniques and strategies to teach and practice prevocalic r production.

What is a Prevocalic R?

A prevocalic r is a feature of the English language that refers to the pronunciation of the sound /r/ before a vowel in a word.

Articulation Therapy and Prevocalic R

When it comes to treating speech sound disorders, in the schools or in a private practice setting, the speech therapist will begin with a complete evaluation of the client’s speech sound system.

During assessment, we collect a detailed case history and conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the client’s speech sound system, including an analysis of prevocalic r production. We also consider other factors that may be impacting speech production, such as oral motor skills, hearing, and language abilities.

Based on the assessment results, we develop an individualized treatment plan that targets the specific needs of the client. Treatment may involve direct therapy, where we work one-on-one with the client, or indirect therapy, where we collaborate with family members, teachers, and other professionals to support the client’s communication development.

This evaluation helps determine whether prevocalic R is the only intervention target or if other sounds are also in need of remediation. Once it has been determined that prevocalic R is a good intervention target, we can begin working on this sound specifically.

Our primary goal is to help individuals achieve effective communication by improving their speech intelligibility and overall communication skills.

The speech therapist may use a variety of techniques and strategies to help the client produce prevocalic R correctly. These may include auditory bombardment, modeling, and shaping.

During therapy sessions, the speech therapist will provide feedback and guidance to the client as they practice producing prevocalic R in various words and phrases.

It is important to note that progress in therapy can take time, and clients may need multiple sessions to master the sound.

Correct Sound Production

In the English language the r sound is one of the most difficult sounds as well as one of the last sounds to develop. There are two different ways a Speech Language Pathologist can teach tongue placement for r remediation.

First, let’s review the two different variations for tongue movements for producing the correct r sound:

• Retroflexed R
• Bunched R

The two different tongue positions are very similar and vary in mid-tongue and tongue tip placements:

• Teeth: The /r/ sound is made by having a slight gap between the teeth.
• Lips: Lips should be in a neutral position and not rounded. (A rounded lip shape might lead to a w sound in place of an /r/ sound, such as “wed” for the word “red”.
• Sides of the Tongue: Be sure to place the sides of the tongue and back of the tongue against the upper side of your teeth to allow for the passage of air to go down the center of the tongue.
• Tongue Placement:
  • Retroflexed Tongue Position: Have the mid-tongue somewhat tense but not bunched up. Then place the tip of the tongue pointing up to the roof of their mouth just past the alveolar ridge.
  • Bunched Tongue Position: Have the mid-tongue bunched up near the roof of the mouth. Then place the tip of the tongue pointing down or straight.
• Air: Then blow a skinny stream of air over the center of your tongue (you do not want the air to come out the sides of the tongue).
• Voice: The next step is that the r sound is also a voiced sound so your voice box or vocal cords should vibrate. You can tell that their voice is turned on by touching your voice box on your neck and feeling it vibrate (the upper part of the throat).

Hardest Sounds

Please keep in mind that the r sound is a later developing sound and one of the hardest aspects is teaching the complexity of speech movements.

Teaching the right way to place the child’s tongue can give you a hard time.

That’s why it’s important to work closely with a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist to give you professional help to work with your child to find the right position for their tongue to produce a great sounding r sound.

R Speech Sounds

• Prevocalic R – is when the r sound comes before a vowel sound, such as initial r words as in “red”.
• Vocalic R Sound – is when the r sound comes after a vowel sound, such as: or, ar, er, ear, ire, air.

Target Words

When selecting target words and word lists, it’s important to consider the individual needs and abilities of the client. A speech-language pathologist can help identify appropriate target words and develop a plan for therapy sessions that is tailored to the client’s specific needs and goals.

Here’s a list of prevocalic articulation sounds for you to use in therapy or at home practice to work on your student or child’s new skill.

• For Example: red, rain, rest, right, race, rat, ride, ruin, rope, rake, read, rode, root, ripe, racket, raspberry, recess, retreat, run, rubber

See full list of words, phrases, and sentences below.

Be sure to grab my one page freebie of prevocalic sounds below. Simply scroll to the bottom of this post and grab your free copy!

Need Medial or Final R Words?

See full list of 1220+ R words at the word level, phrase level, and sentence level here. Plus this list provides words in the initial position of words, medial r words, and final r words. (I’m hoping to have an r blend list coming soon!)

Need a Different Sound?

You won’t want to miss out on my complete growing list of all my articulation word lists!

Word Positions: R Words Speech Therapy

Initial Position of Words

The initial position of the r sound is at the beginning of the word. For example, “rock” or “rain”.

Medial Position of Words

Some words have the r sound in the medial position of a word, such as “parrot”, “carseat”, and “pirate”.

Final Word Position

The final positions of words are when the target sound is at the end of the word. For example, “baker” or “tiger”.

Prevocalic R Words at Word Level

Some ways to practice includehaving your child or student say each prevocalic /r/ word one by one as they go through a list.

Using a dot marker can also be a fun way to practice having your child put a dot under each prevocalic r sound.

In addition, I’ve compiled an easy-to-download dot game of the prevocalic r sound below. Simply scroll down to the bottom of this post and download your free copy.

• 1 Syllable: ring, rich, red, rain, rock, rose, ray, ron, room, ram, rest, Ryan, rat, royal, rap, rage, rice, race, rush, Rome, ross, right, real, road, rad, run, row, roof, ride, rope, risk, rise, rum, rip, Rick, robe, rule, rep, rug, reach, rent, read, rod, rant, roll, rust, rob, rack, rough, Ruth, round, rhythm, ride, root, rag, ranch, ridge, raw, rot, ring, reign, rale, rim, rig, rave, rude, rub, reed, raft, rut, rear, rib, ritz, rye, rails, rouge, route, roe, rash, raid, reef, ruin, rocks, roar, roast, roach, rung, rein, rare, raise, ripe, rank, reek, role, roll, realm, rack, ruse, ramp, rink, runt, react, rasp, ratch, realy, reel, roost

• 2 Syllable: Rachel, river, Rio, range, russia, robbery, rhyme, running, respect, riddle, rodent, raven, reason, rocket, robbin, roman, ready, rodger, reading, rainbow, rasta, random, Riley, reindeer, rising, rhino, reagan, region, rapper, riot, rabbit, racing, research, reaction, relief, ripple, romance, rosa, ruler, reward, romeo, raining, really, return, resource, runner, ruby, recall, roster, robot, recess, reptile, rally, randy, russell, rubber, rascal, rocky, ringing, ribbon, realize, routine, recipe, rooster, rifle, respite, robber, rubish, raddish, resist, rebel, raffle, rapture, regret, rowing, rustic, racket, redneck, rugby, retail, report, reject, request, rover, rubble, rodeo, raptor, royalty, reveal, radar, release, rapid, riches, rumor, roommate, repeat, rhyming, rusty, racist, resort, rumble, recon, repent, raided, rampage, records, runway, ruthless, roller, reunion, review, realtor, rooky, resume, relay, radar, retire, redo, ranger, rescue, rhombus, rental, relax, raising, reaching, recipt, rejoice, reggae, replace, regard, railway, results, raccoon, regain, richness, rancid, ruckus, refuge, reverse, raging, riser, runoff, refuse, realty, rival, realness, rocking, rematch, richer, refund, raincoat, remorse, roaring, rutter, railing, rabi, reeling, reckless, racer, remark, repair, recieve, restless, rabid, raisin, ruining, rupture, risking, reset, ruling, rifling, reflux, railroad, rinsing, remain, reform, rower, roaming, rider, rusting, ringer, replay, reply, rambler, respawned, rumbling, rested, raiser, rockies, rebate, ransom, rasping, rover, rotor, regards, redness, roomie, remote, refresh, rinse, relate, rattle, restart, recount, refine

• 3 Syllable: revenge, radio, remember, realty, republic, restaurant, recycle, radical, recycling, rainforest, receiver, register, resolve, religion, racism, relative, ration, raspberry, reminder, rebellion, Ramadan, radiant, Robinson, righteous, Russian, reflection, resistance, respectful, relentless, retina, remedy, recession, retriever, revival, rosary, rejection, reasoning, resentment, replica

• 4 Syllable: relaxation, retirement, relationship, righteousness, renovation, revolution, reciprocal, resolution, responsible, reference, retribution, resurrection, reservation, republican, remembering, rambunctious, revelation, relatable, recovery, remarkable, reciprocate, ravioli, renewable, recreation, restoration, reproduction, radiator, rosemary, recognition, registration, rhinoceros, reliable, remodeling, reinforcement, relocation, regulation, requirement, reformation, resignation, repercussion, regurgitate, respirator, reasonable, regenerate, repairable, reversible

Prevocalic R Words Speech Therapy

SEE ALSO: 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy

Short Sentences or Phrases

When working on prevocalic r sound production, it’s important to work on short phrases once your child or student has mastered the sound at the word level at or near 80% or higher accuracy.

Here is a list of prevocalic word phrases to try:

Prevocalic R Words Speech Therapy in Phrases

Sentence Level: Prevocalic R Words Speech Therapy

The next step after working at the word and phrase levels is to work on the prevocalic r sound at the sentence level.

For example, you could give your child or student a list of sentences to read aloud while they work on their prevocalic r sound.

Another idea would be to give your child or student pictures with their prevocalic r sound in them and then have them create a sentence about those pictures.

Below is a list of sentences to use with your child or students.

Prevocalic R Words Speech Therapy in Sentences

SEE ALSO: Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy

Correct Production – Effective R Therapy

Do you have any r kids who are struggling with the incorrect production of the r sound?

If so, here are a handful of new strategies that therapists have had great success with helping their speech students produce the tricky sound of R.

Start with one simple program below and if that doesn’t work you can keep working through the different strategies until you find one that your student finds success with.

You can even grab a tongue depressor to use as a tactile cue to help correct speech errors.

• Teach Tongue and Mouth Anatomy: The first step you can start with is by teaching the parts of the tongue and mouth that will help with cueing for articulation placement. Grab the R Sound Freebie – Anatomy of Tongue and Mouth for Speech Therapy by Speechy Things.
• Phonemic Awareness, Auditory Discrimination, & Articulation: Practice targeting all three skills with this free trial of Locate! Discriminate! Articulate! – /r/: FREE TRIAL VERSION by OTTeR Speech.
• Phonemic Awareness: Have your students start by identifying where they hear the r sound in a word. Use this Phonemic Awareness – R Freebie by michjco to get started.
• Perception Training: Start with R Perception Training by having the student identify the difference between the correct R sound and the incorrect R sound. Grab the R Sound Perception Training FREEBIE: Early R Speech Therapy Activities from Speechy Things.
• Vocalic R Sounds Visual Cue: Have students working on the vocalic R? Grad this free Vocalic R Visual Support- Free / English Only worksheet from The Spanish Speechie.
• Minimal Pairs: Use minimal pairs to work on the r sound. Have your students identify the /r/ vs. the /w/ sound with the Free r/w Minimal Pairs Hide & Seek Speech – School Theme – Boom Cards & PPT by Little Speech Shop.

Different Ways to Practice

Finally, there are many different ways to practice prevocalic r. These can include tongue twisters, reading aloud, singing, and other exercises. By practicing in different ways, students can become more comfortable with the sound and learn how to produce it more naturally.

Overall, teaching prevocalic r can be challenging, but with the right techniques and practice, students can learn to master this important sound.

Prevocalic R Words Speech Therapy Ideas

Below are some therapy materials that you might find helpful when it comes to working on prevocalic r with your clients.

It is important to have materials that are easy access and can be used in a variety of settings. This may include materials that can be printed out and used in therapy sessions or materials that can be accessed through a digital platform. We have found that having a variety of materials that are easy to access and use has been essential in our practice.

Boom Cards

Boom Cards are digital task cards that can be accessed through a computer, tablet, or smartphone. They are a fantastic way to have a little speech therapy fun while engaging your clients in a fun and interactive way. We have found that Boom Cards are particularly helpful when working on prevocalic r because they provide visual cues and immediate feedback.

• FREE Articulation Sudoku Prevocalic /r/ BOOM CARD™ Deck – Distance Learning by KI Speech Therapy – Kristin Immicke is a great boom card resource that has students practice prevocalic r while playing a sudoku style game.
• FREE Prevocalic R Activity Boom Cards for Speech Therapy | Distance Learning by Talking with Rebecca is a fine scramble style game that is highly rated and engaging for students practicing prevocalic R!
• FREE-Prevocalic R Superhero BOOM Cards by Leap into Speech is a really fun and engaging super hero themed boom card set!

Great Book

Using books in therapy is a great way to engage clients in a fun and entertaining way. There are many great books available that can be used to target prevocalic r.

For Example:

The Little Old Lady That Wasn’t Afraid of Anything by Linda D. Williams and Megan Lloyd is one of the best children’s books out there. This story follows a little old lady who goes on a walk through the forest looking for herbs, nuts, and seeds and on her way home meets various clothing items that try to scare her, but she keeps telling them that she is not afraid of anything! This book is great for your older children who wouldn’t be afraid of scary clothing items following a lady home.

Digital Version:

Articulation

• R Sound – ran, rocked

Get the complete list of children’s books for speech therapy.

Flip Book

A flip book is a tool that can be used to target a variety of speech sounds, including prevocalic r. It consists of a series of pages with different word lists that can be flipped through to practice different sounds. We have found that flip books are particularly helpful when working on prevocalic r because they provide a visual representation of the sound and allow clients to practice in a structured way.

• Phonic Flip Books (Bossy R) by Kaitlyn Campbell is a print and go flip book that is great for practicing prevocalic R!
• The 3 R’s of Earth Day Flipbook {FREEbie} by The Treasured Schoolhouse is a highly rated fip book that focuses on /r/ with an earth day theme!
• R.A.P. Flip book by Jessica Stearns is a fun flip book for younger ages! It is easy to print and go or to use interactively!

Digital Downloads

There are many digital downloads available that can be used to target prevocalic r. These include worksheets, flashcards, and games. We have found that digital downloads are particularly helpful when working with clients who are learning remotely or who need additional practice outside of therapy sessions.

• R Activities I Spy Game by Speech Therapy Store – If you’re looking for an amazing freebie and a great resource then you’re in the right spot. I’ve created a fun and engaging I Spy activity that any student is sure to love!

• R Word Search by Speech Therapy Store – Here is a fun and engaging Word Search that your students are sure to enjoy.

• 43+ Best R Speech Therapy Activities by Speech Therapy Store – You won’t want to miss out on this list of just over 43 different activities for working on the r sound in therapy.

Home Practice

As speech-language pathologists, we understand the importance of home practice for our clients.

When working with children’s speech, we know that consistent practice is key to improving their skills. Without regular practice, children may struggle to retain what they have learned in therapy sessions. This is why we encourage parents to work with their child at home, in addition to attending therapy sessions with us.

Home practice allows children to practice their skills in a comfortable and familiar environment. By practicing at home, children can work on their speech skills at their own pace, without the pressure of a therapy session.

We recommend that parents practice with their child for at least 10-15 minutes per day, 3-5 times per week. This can include practicing specific words or phrases that contain the prevocalic /r/ sound, as well as reading books or engaging in other activities that promote speech development.

It is important to note that every child is different, and what works for one child may not work for another. That is why we work closely with parents to develop a home practice plan that is tailored to their child’s individual needs.

In conclusion, home practice is an essential component of speech therapy for children who struggle with the prevocalic /r/ sound. By practicing at home, children can reinforce what they have learned in therapy and make progress towards their speech goals. As speech-language pathologists, we are committed to working with parents to develop effective home practice plans that meet the unique needs of each child.

• R Sound Articulation Lists by Speech Therapy Store – Grab my one page freebie of initial r words, medial r, and final r sounds with real-life photos perfect for older students working on the word, phrase, and sentence levels.

• Interactive Flash Cards by Speech Therapy Store – Have fun using our interactive r flash cards right from your computer! We’ve included 25 flash cards for the initial r, medial r, and final r for a total of 75 interactive flash cards to use with your students or clients right from your computer.

SEE ALSO: 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials

In Conclusion: Prevocalic R Words Speech Therapy

We hope you have found this article helpful for working on your child or student’s prevocalic r sound.

Be sure to grab your freebie of 86 Prevocalic R Words in a Dots and Boxes game!

Grab Your Free Prevocalic R Word Dots and Boxes Game!

Simply enter your name and email to have this free Prevocalic R Words Dots and Boxes game emailed directly to your inbox!

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some activities to teach prevocalic r?

There are many fun and engaging activities that can help teach prevocalic r. Some examples include tongue twisters, word games, and singing songs that emphasize the r sound. You can also use visual aids such as mirrors or videos to help children see how their mouth moves when producing the r sound.

How can I improve my child’s prevocalic r pronunciation?

Consistent practice and repetition are key to improving prevocalic r pronunciation. Encourage your child to practice saying words with the r sound every day, and provide positive feedback and reinforcement when they make progress. You should also work with a speech therapist to help guide your child’s practice.

What are some common postvocalic r words?

Postvocalic r refers to the r sound that comes after a vowel in a word. Some common postvocalic r words include “car,” “bird,” and “star.” It is important to note that postvocalic r can be pronounced differently depending on the dialect or region.

What is the difference between prevocalic r and postvocalic r?

Prevocalic r refers to the r sound that comes before a vowel in a word, while postvocalic r refers to the r sound that comes after a vowel in a word. The two sounds can be pronounced differently and require different techniques for proper pronunciation.

Are there any online resources for teaching prevocalic r?

Yes, there are many online resources available for teaching prevocalic r. Some examples include speech therapy websites, YouTube videos, and educational apps. It is important to ensure that the resources are reputable and evidence-based before using them for practice.

How can I incorporate prevocalic r practice into daily routines?

Incorporating prevocalic r practice into daily routines can be easy and fun. You can encourage your child to say words with the r sound during mealtime, playtime, and even while reading books. You can also make a game out of finding words with the r sound in everyday objects or signs. Consistent practice and repetition are key to improving prevocalic r pronunciation.

Want Even More Prevocalic R Words Speech Therapy?

• 1,220+ R Words Speech Therapy {Interactive Flashcards!}
• 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy
• 261+ Free Ideas for Digital Therapy
• 917+ Best Free Boom Cards for Speech Therapy
• 11 Free Articulation Games for Speech Therapy

Want the Best of the Bests?

Be sure to check out our most popular posts below!

• 21 Best Reinforcement Games for Speech Therapy / Teletherapy
• Best IEP Resources
• 71+ Free Social Problem-Solving Scenarios
• 430+ Free Multisyllabic Words List Activity Bundle
• 432+ Free Measurable IEP Goals and Objectives Bank
• 279+ Free Speech Therapy Digital Materials
• 179+ Free Speech Therapy Wh-Questions Printable