Bus Bully Characters

Overview

In this read-aloud session, the teacher begins Bully on the Bus and pauses at key moments to discuss characters and events. Students record feelings, predictions, and connections in their Reading Response Journals.

Learning intentions

• Students will use listening and viewing comprehension strategies to understand characters and events. (ACELY1661)
• Students will practise predicting what might happen next based on clues in the text. (ACELY1661)
• Students will connect text events to their own experiences or ideas about friendships and kindness. (ACELY1661)
• Students will respond with short reflections about how events make them feel. (ACELY1662)

Success criteria

• I can describe who the characters are and what they do at the start of the story. (ACELY1661)
• I can use at least one comprehension strategy (visualising, predicting, connecting, questioning, or summarising) while listening. (ACELY1661)
• I can say or write how an event makes me feel and explain why in simple terms. (ACELY1662)
• I can answer a question about the story using evidence from the read-aloud (a detail I heard). (ACELY1661)

Curriculum links

• Comprehension strategies for listening and viewing, and reading print and multimodal texts (ACELY1661)
• Speaking and listening: expressing ideas clearly in discussion (ACELY1661)
• Literacy: using evidence from texts to support ideas and responses (ACELY1661)
• Responding to texts through structured written reflections (ACELY1662)

Lesson structure (45 minutes)

1. 3 min – Welcome and goal

• Gather students in a calm reading spot. Restate the focus: “Today we meet the characters and notice how the story makes us feel.”
• Show the book cover and ask: “What do you think the story will be about?” (Prediction warm-up.)

2. 6 min – Pre-reading routine (activate understanding)

• Quick “visualise” prompt: “When I read, close your eyes and picture what you think the bus looks like.”
• Teach a simple response format for the journal: “I think… / I feel… / Because…”

3. 14 min – Read aloud: stopping points for character discussions

• Read the opening section of Bully on the Bus aloud.
• Stop at 2–3 key points to prompt:
• Who is a character here? “What are they like? What are they doing?”
• Questioning: “What might happen next and why?”
• Connecting: “Have you seen something like this at school, on the playground, or in your life?”
• Keep questions short and concrete; allow students to respond verbally or with a pointing gesture.

4. 8 min – “Feelings and reasons” journal writing

• Students complete 1–2 journal entries:
• “An event I noticed is…”
• “I feel… (happy, worried, mad, confused, etc.) because…”
• Offer sentence starters and model one example.
• For students who need support, provide a feelings word bank and allow drawing to stand alongside writing.

5. 7 min – Turn-and-talk: share and summarise

• In pairs (or teacher-led for this small group), students share one character detail and one feeling.
• Teacher prompts summarising: “In one sentence, what has happened so far?”
• Capture 2–3 student answers on a whiteboard under “Characters” and “Feelings.”

6. 4 min – Sorting activity: character traits

• Use picture cards or quick sketches (teacher-made): bus scenes, characters, actions (e.g., “being unkind”, “helping”, “feeling scared”).
• Students sort cards into two groups: “What we know about the characters so far” and “What we still need to find out.”
• Reinforce: “This helps us predict and ask better questions.”

7. 3 min – Exit reflection and preview

• Students add one final line: “Next, I think…”
• Teacher previews: “In the next lesson we’ll keep reading and learn more about how the characters handle the situation.”

Resources

• Class set of Bully on the Bus (or one main book for read-aloud plus copies as available)
• Reading Response Journals for each student
• Feelings word bank (with simple icons/emojis if helpful)
• Sentence starters on a small card (I think… / I feel… / Because…)
• Whiteboard and markers
• Teacher-made character/action picture cards or sticky-note sketches
• Timer (visual) to support attention and transitions
• Optional: coloured pencils for quick “feelings pictures”

Assessment

• Teacher observation during pauses: can students name a character and describe an action or trait?
• Journal check: completion of a feeling response with a simple “because” reason.
• Oral quick check during summarising: “What happened so far?” and “What do you predict next?”

Differentiation

• Support (ADHD/Autism): shorter response options (draw + 1 sentence), clear routines, visual timers, and choice of response mode (verbal, written, drawing).
• Support: provide a mini checklist beside the journal: “Character / Feeling / Because.”
• Extension: ask students to use a specific strategy label (e.g., “I used predicting because…”), or write a two-sentence summary (“First… Then…”).
• EAL: allow key responses with sentence frames; pre-teach 5–7 essential words (bus, character, feel, because, think, help, bully) using gestures/pictures.
• SEN: use partial writing (sentence starter only) and offer hand-over-hand tracing or word bank matching.

Assessment focus for this lesson

• Comprehension strategies during listening (visualise, predict, connect, question, summarise) shown through discussion and journal entries.
• Expressing feelings connected to story events using simple, structured responses.