Discuss the letter "R" with your class and how it sounds. Draw on the chalkboard or whiteboard the upper and lower case "R". Talk about things that start with "R". Have the children offer examples to elicit class participation. Allow the kids to come up and practice writing the letter on the chalkboard or whiteboard. Use different colored chalk for more fun. If they have a hard time, draw dotted lines to assist them.
Talk about American Sign Language briefly with the class. Incorporating sign language letters adds a hands-on activity to learning the alphabet. For the letter "R", cross your index and middle finger while the rest of the fingers point down. It looks like you are crossing your fingers for good luck. Have the children do this as well.
Find printouts of different animals, like a duck, cat, dog and cow. Make sure you have at least a few lions. Hold the pictures up one by one and have the kids make the sound that that particular animal makes. Before you begin, tell the kids that when they see the lion, that they should roar as loud as they can. Mention that "R" is for "RRROOOOAAAARRRRR". They will love this one.
Draw and cutout the capital "R" on a piece of eight-inch by 11-inch paper. Make enough copies for all of your students. Place several small things on a table. Some things should be items that start with the letter "R" and other things that do not. For example, place raisins, rice, magazine cutouts of rattlesnakes and raccoons, plastic coins, etc. Have the kids look at the items and choose 5 things that start with "R". Allow the kids to apply glue to the cutout and attach the things that they found.
Fill three quarters of an empty two-liter soda bottle with rice. Place small items into the bottle. These items can be rubber bands, plastic snakes, toothpicks, marbles, etc. Have the kids take turns turning the bottle to find things that start with "R". This is like letter "I Spy" in a bottle.