Phonics And Early Reading: Reading And Language Arts Terms Explained

Plain-language definitions of every phonics and early reading term your child meets in school, each with kid-friendly explanations, worked examples, and common mistakes to watch for.

R-controlled vowel

An r-controlled vowel is a vowel that is followed by the letter r in the same syllable, which changes the vowel’s usual sound, like in "car," "her," "bird," "corn," and "turn."

Rhyme

A rhyme is a word that has the same ending sounds as another word, matching from the vowel sound to the end of the word, such as "cat" and "hat" or "sing" and "ring." Rhymes help children hear and play with sounds in spoken and written language.

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