State and Model the Objective
Tell the children that they will ride on a pretend bumpy bus and say the /b/ sound when they see the letter B in words such as bus, bumpy, bear, bug, boy, and broom.
 
Literacy Activities
Board the bus and bump along a bus route

• Set up a bus by placing chairs in rows or using a cardboard cutout in the shape of a bus.
• Make a bus route using masking tape on the floor for the road.
• Explain that only things that begin with the letter B can board the bumpy bus and that the letter B makes the /b/ sound as in bus.
• Ask the children to choose what B thing they want to be (support as needed), and have them tell you what they are as they board the bus (e.g., ballerina, boy, bug, bear).
• Sit at the front as the bus driver and call out, “Begin!”
• Let the bus riders begin to bump along the bus route.
• Call out actions that begin with /b/ for the bus riders to do as they move along the bus route (e.g., buzz, bounce, bend, beep).

Put things that start with B in a brown bag

• Set up various “Bus Stop” Signs along the route.
• Place several picture cards that start with /b/ along with a picture card that does not start with /b/ at each bus stop along the route.
• Have the rider at the back of the bus hold a big brown bag, box, or basket.
• Let the riders begin traveling the bus route, making the /b/ sound and looking for picture cards that start with B at each bus stop.
  • If the card begins with B, have the children say, "___ says /b/ and goes in the big brown bag," and have them circle the B on the picture label and put it in the big brown bag.
  • If the item does not begin with /b/, have the children say, "No! ___ does not start with /b/" and leave the item at the bus stop.

More Practice
Identify, blend, and manipulate sounds

• With word blending cards, have the children make new words by changing the vowel or either of the consonants:
  • bit → bat; bag → bug; bad → bed; big → bog
  • bus → bug; bat → ban; bin → bit; bag → bad
  • bug → tug; bun → sun; bat → rat; big → dig

Read target words in a text 

• Read the Bumpy Bus Chant target text to the children as you act it out.
• Invite the children to join in as you read and act out the text again.
• Have the children underline the words in the text that start with B.

Write about the activity using target words and patterns

• With the children’s help, compile a list of words from the bus activities that start with the letter B, letting the children take turns writing the letter B.
• Let the child write the letter B or b on sticky notes and then place the letters on objects around the room that start with B (support as needed).
• Give each child a whiteboard and have them write words from dictation, changing one or two letters each time to make a new word (e.g., bus, bun, bin, big, bug, bag, bat, bet, bed).