Step-by-step English Level 1: The sounds of r and h
Part of the Step-by-step English Level 1 letter sounds: e, u, r, h, b, f, l chapter. Chapter overview · whole chapter on one page
The sounds of r and h
The letter r makes the sound /r/, as in rat and rug.
The letter h makes the sound /h/, as in hat, hen and hut.
Say /h/ as a breath. Say /r/ as a soft growl, with no "uh" after it.
Key ideas
- r makes the sound /r/, as in rat and rug.
- h makes the sound /h/, as in hat, hen and hut.
- Say /h/ as a breath, not "huh".
- The first letter of a name tells you its first sound.
Method. Find the picture whose name starts with the right letter.
- Look at the first letter of each name. The first letter gives the first sound.rat: r leg: l sock: s
- Find the name that starts with the sound /r/. That is the picture you need.rat starts with r
- Write the answer. rat
Check. Only rat starts with r. ✓
Watch out. Look at the start of each name, not the end.
Method. Say the name, then pick its first letter.
- Say the name of the picture slowly. Find its first sound.rat
- Find the first letter of the name. The first letter stands for the first sound.rat starts with r
- Write the answer. r
Check. r is the first letter of rat. ✓
Watch out. Use the first letter only.
Method. Find the picture whose name starts with the right letter.
- Look at the first letter of each name. The first letter gives the first sound.rug: r duck: d map: m
- Find the name that starts with the sound /r/. That is the picture you need.rug starts with r
- Write the answer. rug
Check. Only rug starts with r. ✓
Watch out. Look at the start of each name, not the end.
Watch out
Watch out: rug starts with r, but it also has a u. For the first sound, look only at the r.Exam tip
Grown-up tip. Say "h" as a breath, and "r" as a soft growl. Ask the child to point to the first letter of each name.
Exercise 3B Practice: the sounds of r and h
Method. Say the name, then pick its first letter.
- Say the name of the picture slowly. Find its first sound.rug
- Find the first letter of the name. The first letter stands for the first sound.rug starts with r
- Write the answer. r
Check. r is the first letter of rug. ✓
Watch out. Use the first letter only.
Method. Find the picture whose name starts with the right letter.
- Look at the first letter of each name. The first letter gives the first sound.hat: h tap: t dog: d
- Find the name that starts with the sound /h/. That is the picture you need.hat starts with h
- Write the answer. hat
Check. Only hat starts with h. ✓
Watch out. Look at the start of each name, not the end.
Method. Say the name, then pick its first letter.
- Say the name of the picture slowly. Find its first sound.hat
- Find the first letter of the name. The first letter stands for the first sound.hat starts with h
- Write the answer. h
Check. h is the first letter of hat. ✓
Watch out. Use the first letter only.
Method. Find the picture whose name starts with the right letter.
- Look at the first letter of each name. The first letter gives the first sound.hen: h gift: g leg: l
- Find the name that starts with the sound /h/. That is the picture you need.hen starts with h
- Write the answer. hen
Check. Only hen starts with h. ✓
Watch out. Look at the start of each name, not the end.
Method. Say the name, then pick its first letter.
- Say the name of the picture slowly. Find its first sound.hen
- Find the first letter of the name. The first letter stands for the first sound.hen starts with h
- Write the answer. h
Check. h is the first letter of hen. ✓
Watch out. Use the first letter only.
Method. Find the picture whose name starts with the right letter.
- Look at the first letter of each name. The first letter gives the first sound.lamp: l hut: h cow: c
- Find the name that starts with the sound /h/. That is the picture you need.hut starts with h
- Write the answer. hut
Check. Only hut starts with h. ✓
Watch out. Look at the start of each name, not the end.
Method. Say the name, then pick its first letter.
- Say the name of the picture slowly. Find its first sound.hut
- Find the first letter of the name. The first letter stands for the first sound.hut starts with h
- Write the answer. h
Check. h is the first letter of hut. ✓
Watch out. Use the first letter only.
Method. Compare the first letters, then find the one that is different.
- Look at the first letter of each name. Find the letter that is different.rat: r rug: r sun: s
- Find the one that is different. The others all start with the same letter.sun is different
- Write the answer. sun
Check. The others start with r. ✓
Watch out. Ignore the rest of each word. Compare only the first letters.
Method. Compare the first letters, then find the one that is different.
- Look at the first letter of each name. Find the letter that is different.hat: h hen: h sun: s
- Find the one that is different. The others all start with the same letter.sun is different
- Write the answer. sun
Check. The others start with h. ✓
Watch out. Ignore the rest of each word. Compare only the first letters.
Method. Find the first letter, then check Sam's claim.
- Say the word slowly. Look at the first letter.rat
- Find the first letter. The first letter gives the first sound.first letter = r
- Compare with what Sam said. The two letters must match.s is not r
- Write the answer. No, rat starts with r.
Check. rat begins with r. ✓
Watch out. Look at the first letter, not a letter in the middle.
Method. Find the first letter, then check Sam's claim.
- Say the word slowly. Look at the first letter.hat
- Find the first letter. The first letter gives the first sound.first letter = h
- Compare with what Sam said. The two letters must match.s is not h
- Write the answer. No, hat starts with h.
Check. hat begins with h. ✓
Watch out. Look at the first letter, not a letter in the middle.