R-Controlled (ur) Worksheets

Free printable r-controlled — ur 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: UR r-controlled vowel
fur blur slur spur burn curl hurt surf turn urge burst curve

1 Decodable Reader

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

Burt's Hurt Hen mini-book cover
Free illustrated mini-book · Level 4

Burt's Hurt Hen

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

Burt's Hurt Hen, page 1Burt's Hurt Hen, page 2Burt's Hurt Hen, page 3Burt's Hurt Hen, 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

Burt had a pet hen. The hen got hurt when she took a bad turn and fell. Burt felt a big urge to help his hen. He ran to his mom. “My hen is hurt!” he yelled. Burt’s mom called a pet nurse. The nurse came to help. She set her bag on the grass. “She will be ok,” the nurse said. The nurse was very kind with the small hen. She put a slick cloth on her leg. Burt gave the nurse a dime from his little purse. “Thank you for your help,” Burt said. The hen felt much better and gave a quick cluck.

Circle or highlight all the UR 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 — UR Words

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

Real Words (10)

fur, blur, slur, spur, burn, curl, hurt, surf, turn, urge

Nonsense Words (6)

zur, jurp, vurn, durb, gurt, flurd

Phrases to read
a turtle in the surf · the nurse has a purse · turn and curl · it hurt to burn · the fur is a blur · churn the butter · surf the curve · a burger for lunch · spur the horse
RAN chart words
fur, burn, turn, curse, churn
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.

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

Circle the Picture

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

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

Which Sentence?

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

Download PDF
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.

Download PDF
Sound Boxes: a er, ir and ur picture worksheet

Sound Boxes

Say each picture and write its sounds in the boxes.

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

Read and Match

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

Download PDF
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 — ur words. Each one opens as its own file.

R-Controlled — UR word sort printable preview

Word Sort

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

Download PDF
R-Controlled — UR phrasing cards printable preview

Phrasing Cards

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

Download PDF
R-Controlled — UR word search printable preview

Word Search

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

Download PDF
R-Controlled — UR ran chart printable preview

RAN Chart

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

Download PDF
← R-Controlled (or) Worksheets View All Phonics Skills R-Controlled (air, ear, ore) Worksheets →

Free Printable R-Controlled (ur) Worksheets

These free r-controlled (ur) worksheets provide structured phonics practice for the UR 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.