R-Controlled (ir) Worksheets

Free printable r-controlled — ir phonics worksheets. Five practice activities: decodable passage, word sort, phrasing cards, rapid naming chart, and word search.

Grade: 1st-2nd Phase 4: Vowel Teams & Advanced Pattern: IR r-controlled vowel
bird dirt fir firm first girl sir stir third swirl twirl whirl

1 Decodable Reader

A free illustrated mini-book for R-Controlled — IR, plus the same story as a passage sheet for highlighting.

Beth's Thirsty Bird mini-book cover
Free illustrated mini-book · Level 4

Beth's Thirsty Bird

A full-color picture book your student reads on their own. Skill: R-Controlled — IR. Print, cut and staple.

Beth's Thirsty Bird, page 1Beth's Thirsty Bird, page 2Beth's Thirsty Bird, page 3Beth's Thirsty Bird, page 4
Want the whole level? 43 Level 4 mini-books in one file, $14Every book stays free to print one at a time. See the pack →
Passage sheet: the same story on one page, for highlighting the target words

Beth was a kind girl. She sat by a tall fir pine and saw a little bird. The bird sat on a stick and did not sing. Its dish in the dirt had not a drop. Beth thought, "That bird must be thirsty."

First, Beth went to get a fresh drink. She put it in the bird’s dish. Then, she held the dish up. "Here you go, little bird," she whispered. The bird flew down from the fir pine. It took a long drink. Then it gave a glad chirp. Beth felt full of mirth.

Circle or highlight all the IR r-controlled words in the story above. How many did you find?
Bossy R: er, ir and ur poster
Free color poster

Bossy R: er, ir and ur

er, ir and ur all say the same sound, /er/, as in her, bird and fur.

Download poster (PDF)

Print it full size for the wall, or smaller for a phonics notebook.

See all 63 phonics rules posters →  ·  or get all 63 in one file for $7, with a notebook-size copy

2 R-Controlled — IR Words

The words this story set practices, in the two groups used by the word sort.

Real Words (10)

bird, dirt, fir, firm, first, girl, sir, stir, third, swirl

Nonsense Words (6)

zir, jirt, virm, dirp, nirb, flird

Phrases to read
a bird in the dirt · the first girl · a shirt and a skirt · stir and swirl · twirl and whirl · a firm fir tree · thirty and thirsty · the third chirp · a smirk on his lips
RAN chart words
bird, first, third, shirt, chirp
Sight words
the, is, a, and, to, was, it, she, he, they, said, have, with, you, are, be

3 ER, IR and UR Picture Worksheets

ER, IR and UR words to read, match and write, with pictures. Each PDF has its answer key on page 2.

Find the Word: a er, ir and ur picture worksheet

Find the Word

Look at each picture and circle the right word out of three.

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Circle the Picture: a er, ir and ur picture worksheet

Circle the Picture

Read a word, then circle its picture out of three.

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Which Sentence?: a er, ir and ur picture worksheet

Which Sentence?

Look at a picture and pick the sentence that matches it.

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Read and Fill In: a er, ir and ur picture worksheet

Read and Fill In

Read a short story, then fill in the missing words.

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Sound Boxes: a er, ir and ur picture worksheet

Sound Boxes

Say each picture and write its sounds in the boxes.

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Read and Match: a er, ir and ur picture worksheet

Read and Match

Read each word, then draw a line to its picture.

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Level 4 Word Work: Vowel Teams pack cover

Level 4 Word Work pack: all 120 vowel team worksheets in one file

The sheets above are free. The pack is every sheet for the long vowel teams, oo, au and aw, ar, or, er, ir and ur, oi and ou in order, a silent letters and review set and all the answer keys, ready to print.

Get the pack for $7 See every kind of sheet

Teaching more than one level? All 6 levels, 600+ worksheets, for $19.

4 Story Worksheets

4 ready-to-print PDFs for this story's r-controlled — ir words. Each one opens as its own file.

R-Controlled — IR word sort printable preview

Word Sort

Cut-apart word cards to sort: Real Words or Nonsense Words. Answer key on page 2.

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R-Controlled — IR phrasing cards printable preview

Phrasing Cards

Short phrases to cut out and read smoothly, for fluency.

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R-Controlled — IR word search printable preview

Word Search

Find 12 r-controlled — ir words in the grid. Answer key on page 2.

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R-Controlled — IR ran chart printable preview

RAN Chart

A grid of five words to read fast, with room to record three timed tries.

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Free Printable R-Controlled (ir) Worksheets

These free r-controlled (ir) worksheets provide structured phonics practice for the IR r-controlled vowel. Activities include a decodable passage embedding target words in a fun story, a word sort activity to distinguish real and nonsense words, phrasing practice cards for fluency building, and a rapid naming (RAN) chart for automaticity. Each worksheet prints cleanly on standard US Letter paper.

For more early literacy resources, explore our sight word flashcards, tracing worksheets, handwriting worksheets, and coloring pages.