Buzzing Bumble Bees

Emergent Literacy

Casey Walker

Rationale: To learn to read and spell words, children need the alphabetic insight that letters stand for phonemes and spelling map out the phonemes in spoken words. Before children can match letters to phonemes, they have to recognize phonemes in spoken word contexts. There are many consonants that children have to learn. This lesson will help children identify /b/. It often gets confused with /d/ so we are going to focus on /b/ to make sure a child can tell the difference between the two. They will recognize /b/ in spoken words, practice writing the letter /b/ in letter form, and then practice finding /b/ in written words.

Materials: primary paper and a pencil; picture of a bumble bee; note cards with these words, one on each card: bumble, bee, bubble, blue, umbrella, basket, tremble, Betty, buzzing; Tongue twister on chart, "The buzzing bumble bee Betty buzzed into the blue basket"; piece of white copy paper and markers. Book: The Honey Bee and the Robber by Eric Carle, 1981


1. Today we are going to learn how to recognize the /b/ sound.

2. Repeat after me, buzzing bee. What does buzzing and bee have in common? That's right, the sound /b/. Today we are going to focus on the /b/ sound. Let's make the /b/ sound together.

3. Now let's try a tongue twister. Show the child the chart with the tongue twister on it and say it together. The buzzing bumble bee Betty buzzed into the blue basket. Repeat once more. Lastly let's say it together and drag out the /b/ sound.

4. Let's look at some more words that have the /b/ sound in them. Show he/she the note cards and practice saying the words together and practice finding the /b/ sound in each word. Example: The first card has bumble on it. Let's say bumble together. Bumble. Do you hear bumble? I hear /b/ more than once: bum-bled.

5. Now take out the primary paper and a pencil. Let's practice making the letter b. Start out at the rooftop and make a straight line down to the sidewalk. Pick up pencil and start at the fence and make a circle and connect it with the line at the sidewalk.

6. Now let's see if you can detect the /b/ sound in a few spoken words. Do you hear the /b/ sound in?

front or back

tub or shower

bug or ant

7. I am going to read The Honey Bee and the Robber by Eric Carle, 1981. An adventurous honeybee as she goes about her busy day. But when a robber bear scratches at the bees' hive, they must all rush out to defend their home. Let's see what happens next.

8. I will assess the student by letting him/her draw four different things that have the /b/ sound. One must be thought up on their own. He can use three words we have already talked about such as bee.


*Kendra Haywood. Sheep on a Ship.

*Ashley Wilkins. The Bumble Bee.

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