A few weeks ago, over on Instagram I showed you some additions we made to our free bed craft and poster for helping students visualize the formation of a b and d when writing. The bed posts showing how to position the downstroke.
Some of my followers shared their favorite tips after I shared another of mine:
Lips Match First Stroke of Written Letter
As well as the bed analogy I like to tell students to think about how their lips are positioned when saying 'b' as opposed to 'd'.
- for b, we start with a closed, straight line mouth (and write the straight downstroke first)
- for d, we start with an open, rounded shape to our lips, and we also write the round circle shape of the d first.
Make a Bed with your Thumbs
- as shown in the photo above, make a bed with 2 thumbs up
Belly and Diaper
- some teachers tell their students that b has a belly, d has a diaper, drawing faces and turning the letters into characters
Alphabetical Order
- a few teachers shared with me using the alphabet for support, they teach students to say a, b, c (draw the c first), d (add the stick)
Magic C
- tell students that magic c turns into a d, they write a c and then add the downstroke
Broomstick and Donut
- a follower shared with us that she tells students that there is a broomstick first for b and a donut first for d
If you have another favorite way to teach b and d, please share by letting us know through our contact form, and I'll add it to this list!
Our free printable includes a blackline and color version of the bed poster, craft, and word cards. You can find it in our store.
We recently added some coloring pages to the coloring club with a b and d focus too. We're sure your students will love them!
Help dog dig for all the ds!
Help bee find the b flowers.
We hope your little learners love these supports to help them remember which way to write their bs and ds!