Words that Start With B

10 min read
Words that Start With B

If you’re looking to teach your child words that start with B, check if your child recognizes the letter first. It is best to teach the letters in order, which makes B the second one, but you should always start off by helping your child recognize all of the 26 letters.

This way, they learn how to pronounce the letter in different words, making it easier to learn words starting with the letter ‘B. ‘ Once children master recognizing what letters look like, you can move on to teaching the different sounds and words.

vocabulary words that start with b

You’re probably wondering why everyone insists on introducing vocabulary words to children once they start going to school. In this post, we will discuss why it is important to teach your child words that start with B as a way to enhance their vocabulary.

Not only that, but we will also have a look at how you can help children learn the letter B in fun ways. Besides the activities being fun and engaging, they enhance the memory, helping them retain information by actively promoting the learning process. To know about words that start with the letter B, read on.

Why Is It Important to Introduce Words that Start With B?

Introducing the English alphabet to a child that is just 2 or 3 years old is already a hard task. What happens when you move on to introducing vocabulary words in nearly a year? This makes the process even more complex because you are introducing an entirely new concept of reading and learning words. Parents and teachers are always confused as to how they can help children learn new words effectively.

While writing and recognizing aspects of learning a letter remain important, vocabulary words starting with B will help your child the most in the long run. We say this because an enriched vocabulary is handy in a number of ways.

The more words a child has in their word bank, the better their communication and language skills. Enhancing communication skills is not all that it does. When a child is successfully able to communicate their thoughts and ideas, they can start meeting different needs.

positive words that start with the letter b

This fills them with self-confidence, which boosts their interactive skills. Once they realize how to get their message across, they begin interacting more often. When they do so, you will see that your child seems clever and more knowledgeable.

This is because interacting with new people helps you gain knowledge and information.

Moreover, better vocabulary also builds better performance skills. This is because having a vast vocabulary can be very helpful in the ability to understand instructions and work on them.

All of these amazing benefits should be enough to convince you to teach your child a larger vocabulary, including words that start with B.

Teaching the Letter B

When teaching your child the letter B, you need to take little steps to ensure an impact. It begins when you show the letter to a child and help them recognize and say it.

Next, it is time to learn how they can write the letter, followed by the steps of recognizing and learning its sound. You can only move on to learning words that start with B when your child has perfected other steps of learning the letter B. However, there are two issues that children often face when learning this letter.

These are mostly related to its resemblance with the letter D and the pronunciation. Of course, the confusion only starts when they learn the letter D.

simple words that start with b

Pronunciation

There are lots of words that start with B or have the letter in them. However, not all these words will make the same sound or share similarities in pronunciation.

Therefore, it is important to have a detailed discussion on how the letter B is pronounced in different words. We will also look at whether the sound is different in words that start with B and words that have it in the middle or at the end.

The sound of the letter B is known as a voiced sound as you use your vocal cords to pronounce this consonant. It is similar to the P letter in terms of pronunciation. However, the letters have one major difference: B is voiced while P is invoiced.

inspirational words that start with b

This means that you create the /b/ sound in a different way from creating the /p/ sound. When you make the /b/ sound, you close your lips together, preventing air from passing through your vocal tract. The sound is made when you finally release the trapped air. This is also known as the stop sound.

Interesting fact: the mouth position when making the /b/ and /p/ sounds is the same. So, you can try to make the /p/ and /b/ sounds like this. First make the /p/ sound. Next, hold your neck when you say the /b/ sound to make sure you use your voice. The sudden release of air when you make the /b/ sound will make it impossible for you to extend it.

You can sense this process if you say these words out loud and focus on how you’re making the b sound: lab, bring, boy, bicycle and rob.

Another thing to note is that letter B makes a double sound in some words, and it is silent in others. This is usually when it comes before T and after M.

easy words that start with b
 give different sounds

Exercise #1

Identify what kind of sound the letter B makes in the following words that start with B or contain it. It might also be silent in a few.

  1. December
  2. Ambiguous
  3. Doubt
  4. Humble
  5. Bet
  6. Book
  7. Bubble
  8. Succumb
  9. Bicycle
  10. Debt
positive words that start with b

Answers

  1. Voiced /b/ sound
  2. Voiced /b/ sound
  3. Silent letter B
  4. Silent letter B
  5. Voiced /b/ sound
  6. Voiced /b/ sound
  7. Three Bs and two different /b/ sounds: voiced /b/ sound and double /b/ sound
  8. Silent letter B
  9. Voiced /b/ sound
  10. Silent letter B

List of Words that Start with B – Preschool and Kindergarten

Introducing vocabulary words that start with B can be hard as children can find it confusing. Here are some B words that you can teach to children at different schooling levels.

Preschool

Preschoolers can’t learn to write words or understand difficult meanings so it is best to start with simple words.

  • Big
  • Bed
  • Barn
  • Bib
  • Ball
  • Bear
  • Boy
  • Bird
  • Bus
  • Blue
describing words that start with b

Kindergarten

As children grow older, you can move on to teaching them meanings and how the words can be used. But make sure to start with easy-to-understand words that start with B.

  • Bath: washing a thing, most often yourself, in a tub filled with water
  • Bid: to offer a sum of money in exchange of something
  • Big: something that is large in size
  • Bake: to cook using dry heat in an oven
  • But: used to make a statement of exception
  • Bye: an expression used to farewell
  • Bubble: liquid that forms a ball around air or gas
  • Button: small round disk that is used to fasten two pieces of garment
  • Bun: a rounded bread made of dough
  • Bite: to use your teeth for cutting through a food item
easy words that start with the letter b

List of B words for Elementary School Students

The elementary school refers to grades 1 to 5. These are the stages when schools introduce students to the basic fundamentals like adjectives or prime numbers of different subjects. Anyhow, here are some words that start with B for elementary school students.

Lower Elementary

This is where you can introduce the blending of letters such as ‘gh’ in brought. Or, you can also teach the concept of the letter ‘I before E’ in words like belief.

  • Been: the past tense of ‘to be’
  • Blend: a harmonious combination
  • Brief: short and concise
  • Bother: to annoy or give discomfort and worry
  • Believe: to accept and trust something to be real
  • Bought: the past tense of ‘buy’
  • Build: to create or construct
  • Blossom: to bloom or flourish
  • Bold: to be prominent or fearless
  • Began: to have started
explanation of encouraging words that start with b

Upper Elementary:

As your child starts taking upper elementary classes, you can start introducing complex words that start with B.

  • Barren: something that does not bear fruit
  • Beautiful: something or someone that pleases the eye
  • Benefit: advantage
  • Between: used to relate two points
  • Border: a line that separates or divides two areas
  • Burrow: the act of digging a hole in the ground
  • Baggage: bags used when traveling
  • Beverage: a liquid that you can drink
  • Burden: a load of emotion or responsibility that is carried
  • Boisterous: loud and noisy
non-action words that start with b

Exercise #2

Try to draw the following words that start with B. You can also find a few items in your house and use them to show meaning.

  1. Baggage
  2. Banquet
  3. Ball
  4. Backpack
  5. Bird
  6. Boy
  7. Basket
  8. Bench
  9. Balloon
  10. Berry
common words that start with b

Fun Activities for Learning B Words

Engaging kids in activities will maintain their interest in the learning part without them getting bored. They may also mistake study time for game time. Not to forget, active learning boosts memory and retains information for longer.

simple words that start with the letter b for fun
  • You can create a worksheet that discusses one or more words that start with B, such as a barn. This will solidify the meanings of the words in their head. Not to mention, kids love to explore new things, so you don’t have to worry about your child not liking the idea.
  • You can let your child choose their favorite words that start with B. Then, let them find, draw or act out the actions or things. You can also turn this into a family game, giving everyone a chance. This way, your child can learn more words in less time.

Frequently Asked Questions