Later sounds
R Sound
There are two good ways to make /r/. Bunched R: hump the back of the tongue up toward the roof of the mouth and pull the sides tight against the back teeth. Retroflex R: curl the tongue tip up and back without touching anything. Either one works - pick whichever the child stumbles into first.
- Sound
- /r/
- Typical age
- By age 5
- Voicing
- Voiced
- Type
- Alveolar/palatal liquid
- Words here
- 175
How to elicit R Sound
Ways to help the child make the sound on its own, before practicing it in words.
Placement, step by step
Where the lips, tongue and teeth go.
- 1There are two correct tongue shapes, and speakers vary along a continuum between them. Pick whichever the child stumbles into first.
- 2Bunched: hump the back and middle of the tongue up toward the middle of the palate, with the tip lower than the dorsum.
- 3Retroflex: raise the tongue TIP up and back toward the front of the palate, with the dorsum lower than the tip.
- 4Both require a second constriction that is easy to miss: the tongue ROOT pulls back toward the pharyngeal wall. Without that retraction the sound will not be /r/, whichever shape the front of the tongue makes.
- 5Pull the sides of the tongue tight against the upper back teeth.
Elicitation strategies
Tips to help a child say this sound. Most need more than one.
Auditory
- A growly "rrrr" — a dog, or a car engine turning over.
- Contrast with /w/ (red / wed), the substitution you will hear most.
- Bombard with /r/ words during play; this sound rewards listening time.
Visual
- Almost nothing to see, and this is the sound where that hurts most.
- Use a drawing of the bunched or retroflex tongue instead of a mirror.
- Some lip rounding is normal; a /w/ is a tongue error, so use the drawing rather than the lips as the check.
Gestural
- Hand flat in front of your mouth, drawn back toward your throat as the fingers curl.
- Back and curl, the same way every time — this sound needs a stable cue.
- Keep the hand low and flat; lifting it reads as /l/.
- Have them pull their own hand back and hold the growl until it stops.
Tactile
- Start from "ee" and slide the tongue backward without letting it drop.
- A depressor along the sides of the tongue to cue it to brace against the back teeth.
- Hand on the throat — the voice never stops through an /r/.
- Try "er" inside a familiar word first; the whole word often works before the sound alone.
How to teach any soundThe practice ladder, shaping from a sound they have, and what to do when it stallsShowHide
The practice ladder
Speech practice climbs. Each step is harder than the one below it, and the jump that trips most people up is the one from single words to real talking. Work at the step where the child is right now - not the one you wish they were on.
- 1
Just the sound
“rrrr”The sound on its own, with no word attached. If the child cannot make it here yet, this is the whole job for now.
- 2
The sound in syllables
“ra, ro, ree”The sound glued to a vowel. Nonsense syllables are useful precisely because they carry no meaning - nothing to get in the way.
- 3
Words that start with it
“red, run, rain”The easiest place in a word, because the child gets to set up their mouth before they begin.
- 4
Words with it anywhere
“red, carrot”Middle and end are harder - the sound has to be produced while the rest of the word is already moving.
- 5
Short phrases
“a red robot”Two or three words together. This is the first step where the child has to think about something other than the sound.
- 6
Whole sentences
“The red robot rolled around the room.”A full sentence of their own. Expect the sound to slip here even though it was perfect in single words - that is normal, not backwards.
- 7
Reading and telling
“a paragraph, a story about their day”Longer stretches of talking, with the sound coming up over and over. Reading aloud is useful because the words are already chosen.
- 8
All the time
“in the car, at dinner, with friends”Real conversation with nobody reminding them. This is the goal, and the only step that actually counts as finished.
Two rules. Do not skip a step because the child is bored - go back one instead. And if the sound falls apart when you move up, that is information, not failure: drop down a rung, get a few easy wins, and try again in a day or two.
Start with a sound they already know
- “ee”
- /g/
- a vocalic R that works
From “ee”, the tongue is already high and braced — pull it backward without letting it drop. From /g/, the back is already bunched, so ease off the contact until it stops touching. And if any vocalic R family already comes out right, build from that rather than starting at zero.
If it is not working
If a sound has not responded to several weeks of consistent work, stop and reconsider the target rather than drilling harder. There could be structural reasons a sound will not stabilize, and those need looking at before more practice will help.
Where this guidance comes from
- ASHA Practice Portal — Speech Sound Disorders: Articulation and Phonology — Treatment framework, cue taxonomy, and named treatment approaches.
- ASHA Practice Portal — Orofacial Myofunctional Disorders — Why a resting tongue posture or open bite may need addressing before sibilant therapy.
- Boyce (2015), Articulatory Phonetics for Residual Speech Sound Disorders: A Focus on /r/ — Bunched versus retroflex /r/, the obligatory pharyngeal constriction, and /r/ error patterns.
- Shriberg (1978), Utilization of the "Straw Technique" for Correction of the Lateral Lisp (LSHSS) — A straw at the midline as a tactile cue for lateral /s/.
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Note
Initial R
118 wordsThe sound is at the beginning of the word.
1 Syllable57 words
- red
- run
- rain
- ring
- road
- rock
- rope
- race
- rug
- roof
- room
- rose
- rack
- raft
- rag
- rail
- raise
- rake
- ram
- ramp
- ranch
- rat
- ray
- reach
- real
- rest
- rhyme
- rib
- rice
- rich
- ride
- ridge
- right
- rim
- rind
- rinse
- ripe
- rise
- roam
- roar
- roast
- rod
- roll
- root
- rot
- rough
- round
- route
- row
- rub
- rush
- rust
- wrist
- ran
- write
- rip
- wrap
2 Syllables48 words
- rabbit
- robot
- rainbow
- raccoon
- ribbon
- river
- ruler
- racket
- radar
- radish
- railroad
- raisin
- random
- rapid
- rattle
- raven
- ready
- reason
- recess
- reindeer
- relax
- remind
- remote
- remove
- repair
- repeat
- reptile
- rescue
- return
- reward
- rhythm
- riddle
- rider
- robin
- rocket
- roller
- rooftop
- rooster
- rowboat
- royal
- rubber
- ruby
- rumble
- runner
- rusty
- rolling
- running
- rainy
3 Syllables11 words
- radio
- raspberry
- recipe
- recover
- rectangle
- recycle
- referee
- regular
- remember
- restaurant
- rodeo
4 Syllables1 words
- rhinoceros
5 Syllables1 words
- refrigerator
High-frequency initial R words
Some of these also sit in the lists above, and none of them are picture-card words - which is exactly why most lists leave them out. They are the words the child already says hundreds of times a day — so they carry more carryover value than any noun on this page. Target them in conversation, not in drill.
- really
- wrong
- remember
- run
- write
- ride
- wrote
- writing
- ringing
- runs
- remembered
- writes
- remembers
- reads
Medial R
57 wordsThe sound is in the middle of the word.
2 Syllables42 words
- carrot
- orange
- parrot
- cherry
- zero
- berry
- marry
- sorry
- ferry
- mirror
- borrow
- barrel
- forest
- pirate
- agree
- carriage
- carry
- chorus
- coral
- erase
- erupt
- fairy
- ferret
- florist
- herring
- hero
- heron
- iris
- merry
- narrow
- parent
- patrol
- porridge
- prairie
- sheriff
- story
- tourist
- very
- hearing
- sharing
- earring
- walrus
3 Syllables15 words
- tomorrow
- library
- barrier
- carousel
- cherry pie
- curious
- marathon
- orange peel
- parrot cage
- pirate ship
- safari
- serious
- terrible
- terrier
- cereal
High-frequency medial R words
Some of these also sit in the lists above, and none of them are picture-card words - which is exactly why most lists leave them out. They are the words the child already says hundreds of times a day — so they carry more carryover value than any noun on this page. Target them in conversation, not in drill.
- very
- sorry
- everything
- already
- tomorrow
- everyone
- everybody
- afraid
- children
- across
- hungry
- everywhere
- several
- carrying
- carried
- sharing
- carries
- pouring
Phrases, sentences and reading
Using the sound in longer stretches of talking, once single words are easy.
Phrases 12
Most of these carry two targets, so each one is two chances to practice.
- a red robot
- run around
- a rabbit in the road
- wrap it up
- a rainy road
- read a story
- ride the rocket
- raise your hand
- really ready
- a river of rain
- rock and roll
- run a race
Sentences 12
- 1.The red robot rolled around the room.
- 2.A rabbit ran across the road.
- 3.Rachel read a story about a rocket.
- 4.Raise your hand if you are ready.
- 5.The rain ran down the roof.
- 6.Wrap the present in red paper.
- 7.The river runs right past our road.
- 8.Ryan rode his bike around the track.
- 9.Rosie really wanted a ride on the train.
- 10.The rooster crowed as the sun rose.
- 11.Roll the rug up and carry it out.
- 12.We ran a race around the park.
Reading passage
The Red Rocket
Ryan built a red rocket out of a cardboard roll. He drew rings around the top and wrote his name in red. Then he ran outside, raised it over his head, and let it rip across the yard. It rolled to a rest right by the rose bush. Ryan picked it up, ran back, and got ready to launch it again.
Phonological awareness
Hearing and playing with the sounds inside words — the listening skill that reading is built on.
Rhyming
Word families built on words from the list above. Say the family out loud, then ask for one more that fits.
rhymes with “red”
red, head, bed, bread, thread
rhymes with “run”
run, done, fun, none, bun
rhymes with “rain”
rain, train, brain, plane, main, chain, lane, crane
-ing family
ring, thing, bring, king, wing, ding, cling
rhymes with “road”
road, code, load, toad
rhymes with “rock”
rock, knock, lock, block, clock, dock, flock, chalk
Syllable counting and blending
Clap or tap once per syllable. To blend, say the parts with a gap and let the child put the word back together.
- red1
- rabbit2
- radio3
- rhinoceros4
- refrigerator5
- run1
- robot2
- raspberry3
Sound blending
You say the separate sounds, the child says the word. Start with the two- and three-sound words.
- /r/ /ay/ray
- /r/ /oh/row
- /r/ /e/ /d/red
- /r/ /uh/ /n/run
- /r/ /ay/ /n/rain
- /r/ /i/ /ng/ring
- /r/ /oh/ /d/road
- /r/ /ah/ /k/rock
- /r/ /oh/ /p/rope
- /r/ /ay/ /s/race
- /r/ /uh/ /g/rug
- /r/ /oo/ /f/roof
Sound segmenting
The reverse, and the harder one. You say the word, the child breaks it into its separate sounds.
- ray/r/ /ay/
- row/r/ /oh/
- red/r/ /e/ /d/
- run/r/ /uh/ /n/
- rain/r/ /ay/ /n/
- ring/r/ /i/ /ng/
- road/r/ /oh/ /d/
- rock/r/ /ah/ /k/
- rope/r/ /oh/ /p/
- race/r/ /ay/ /s/
- rug/r/ /uh/ /g/
- roof/r/ /oo/ /f/
Generalization
Word lists get a sound into a child’s mouth. Generalization is what gets it into their life. These are activities where the target words come up on their own, so nobody has to be talked into practicing.
Play-based ideas for young children
Rocket launch
Count down and launch a toy rocket, a paper plane or a balloon. Say the countdown together - joining in is easier than starting.
Words that come up
rocket, ready, run, red, up, go, round, roar, right, rise, again, rush, race, wrong
Racing cars
Race cars down a ramp. Announce the racers, call the winner, run it again.
Words that come up
race, racing, ready, run, red, roll, round, rush, right, wrong, again, ramp, road, rear
Roaring animals
Lions, bears and dinosaurs that roar. The roar itself is a sustained /r/, which is a useful warm-up.
Words that come up
roar, run, red, rabbit, rhino, right, round, rough, really, run away, ready, rock, roll, rest
Conversation and verbal games for older kids
Rank and rate
Rate things out of ten and justify. "Rate," "rank," "really" and "right" repeat constantly.
Words that come up
rank, rate, rating, really, right, wrong, worse, better, prefer, order, first, favorite
Rules of the game
Explain the rules of a sport or board game. "Rules," "right," "run" and "round" are unavoidable.
Words that come up
rule, rules, right, wrong, round, turn, order, fair, break, remember, repeat, start
Right or wrong
Debate whether something was the right call. Both key words are /r/.
Words that come up
right, wrong, reason, really, rather, prefer, agree, argue, sure, fair, correct, ridiculous
Play it
- Patchy's Slides & LaddersRoll, count your way along, say the word. Ladders climb; land on Patchy and slide back down.Choose position and play
- Enchanted ForestBeat dragons, trolls and witches at rock, paper, scissors on the way to the finish.Choose position and play
- Crazy EightsMatch the color or the animal, say the word to play the card, go out first.Choose position and play
- Build a CreatureMix heads, bodies, tails, wings and extras into something silly. Two words per part.Choose position and play
- Color PatchyColor him in one piece at a time. Every area costs one word.Choose position and play
- Sticker ScenePick a place, then drag people, things and clothes onto it. Best game for phrases and sentences.Choose position and play
Each game opens with R Sound selected. Choose a word position before playing. Score every production with Yes! or Not quite and a percentage appears at the bottom. Nothing is sent anywhere, and nothing is saved beyond this browser.