State and Model the Objective
Tell the children that they will learn a chant about black bats as they listen for words that start with the /b/ sound, such as black, bat, bug and banana.

Literacy Activities
Learn the Black Bats chant

• Show the children each of the picture cards, helping them identify the pictures, then repeat the word as you emphasize the initial sound and ask if the word starts with the /b/ sound.
• Teach the children the Black Bats chant (see below), putting one of the picture card words into the blanks.
• Repeat the chant together, putting in a different picture card word each time, and ask the children if the picture starts with the /b/ sound, supporting if needed.
  • If the picture starts with the /b/ sound, have the children act like a bat and pretend to eat the card.
  • If the picture does not start with the /b/ sound, have the children say, "Blech" and set the card aside.
• Go through the cards again with the chant, having the children flap their arms like a bat every time they hear a /b/ sound word (e.g., black, bat, bite, bug).

More Practice
Clap out sounds in words 

• Have the children take apart the word bat and clap once for each sound in the word (/b/ /a/ /t/).
• Ask the children how many times they clapped for the word bat (3).
• Clap for each sound in the word bat again to reinforce the model.
• Repeat with other words that start with /b/, such as big, bus, bed, bad, and bug.
• Point out that all of the words start with the /b/ sound.