AR (Bossy R): Word List & Practice
AR (Bossy R) words follow one repeating pattern, so a child who can read one of them has most of what they need to read the rest. This list has 15 grade 1-level words plus 4 decodable sentences. Practice them out loud — the most common error is trying to use the short a sound, reading 'car' as /kaa-r/.
- car
- far
- jar
- bar
- star
- park
- dark
- bark
- shark
- sharp
- farm
- arm
- hard
- card
- yard
Practice these words out loud
Have your child read these sentences to Word Wiz AI. It listens and shows exactly which sounds they missed, not just whether the word was right. Free, no sign-up needed to try.
Try these out loudDecodable Sentences
Every word in these sentences uses sounds your child has already learned, so they can be read by decoding rather than guessing.
- The car is far from the farm.
- A shark swims in the dark.
- Park the cart in the yard.
- That card is hard and sharp.
How to Teach AR (Bossy R) Words
'Ar' is the most distinctive of the r-controlled vowels and the easiest place to start. The sound is unmistakable - it is the 'arrr' of a pirate - and unlike 'er,' 'ir,' and 'ur,' it does not share its sound with any other spelling. That makes it a clean first lesson before the harder three.
The core idea to teach is that the r takes over. A child who has learned that a says /a/ in 'cat' has to accept that in 'car' the a no longer says that at all, and the r is why. Calling it 'bossy R' is a cliché precisely because it works - it gives a five-year-old a reason the rule they just learned has stopped applying.
Common Mistakes to Watch For
- Trying to use the short a sound, reading 'car' as /kaa-r/
- Separating the vowel and r into two sounds
- Confusing 'ar' with 'or' when spelling