New here? Just sign up with Google — your account includes Matilda, our gift book, forever.
Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus · Garden Heights
Part 3
for Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus · Part 3 · Chapter 3
8 Parts40 min
What Happens in Part 3
The ride itself. The bus is nothing like a car: enormous, hard-seated, and already full of children who know each other. The curly-haired girl guards her seat, so Junie B. sits alone across the aisle, and the boy put beside her, Jim, snaps at her for touching his backpack and moves away. The bus grows hot, loud and stuffy, her window will not open, and the whole place smells wrong. When they finally reach school she is knocked down in the rush for the door, and Mr. Woo has to pick her up. Mrs. is waiting in the parking lot exactly as promised — and forgets the B again.
What We Will Learn
Section
What you will practice
Vocabulary
Words for a crowded ride and a hard first morning: aisle, shove, grouchy, crowded, nickname…
Literary Elements
A narrator who is only five, words used in a funny wrong way, and a small moment stretched long
Cross-Curricular
Inside a kindergarten room: cubbies, centers, routines, and the jobs children hold
Chapter Summary
Ch.
What happens
3
The Stupid Smelly Bus — The bus is huge inside and the seats have no cloth. The curly-haired girl will not share, saving the place for a friend, so Junie B. sits across the aisle. A boy named Jim is put beside her; she counts and opens a zipper on his backpack, he shouts, and he moves away. The bus fills up and turns hot and loud, her window has no handle, and the air smells like an egg salad sandwich. At last a flagpole and a playground mean school. In the crush to get off she is knocked down and a foot lands on her skirt, so Mr. Woo picks her up and helps her off. Mrs. is waiting in the parking lot — and forgets the B again.
Part 1
Vocabulary
Study 10 key words from Chapter 3, then answer each question.
📚Knowledge Bank · The Names of a Kindergarten Room
Education · Classroom WordsGrown-ups who work with young children share a small set of words for the parts of a room. A cubby is the open box that holds one child’s coat, bag, and papers. The wide rug where everyone sits together is called the carpet, or the meeting area. A center is one small workspace — blocks in a corner, paint at a stand, books on a low shelf. An easel is the slanted stand that holds paper while a child paints standing up. Shelves wear picture labels so a child who cannot read yet still knows where a toy belongs. Learning these words is the first step toward feeling at home in a brand-new room.
aislen.Ch.3
The narrow walking path between two rows of seats
“We walked down the aisle to find two empty seats.”
shovev.Ch.3
To push someone hard and rudely
“Please do not shove your way to the front of the line.”
grouchyadj.Ch.3
In a bad mood and easy to upset
“My brother is grouchy before he eats breakfast.”
crowdedadj.Ch.3
Full of too many people or things
“The crowded bus had no empty seat left.”
stuffyadj.Ch.3
Warm and closed up, with air that is hard to breathe
“We opened a window because the room felt stuffy.”
rudeadj.Ch.3
Not polite or kind to other people
“It is rude to open a bag that belongs to someone else.”
tumblev.Ch.3
To fall over all of a sudden
“She lost her balance and tumbled onto the sidewalk.”
lonelyadj.Ch.3
Sad because you are by yourself
“He felt lonely on the long ride to a new school.”
nicknamen.Ch.3
A short or extra name that people call you
“My nickname is Sam, but my real name is Samuel.”
bumpyadj.Ch.3
Going up and down instead of smooth
“The bumpy road made our lunch boxes jump.”
ⓘ The vocabulary words in this list are selected to help you understand and complete this workbook. Some may not appear verbatim in the original novel.
1The narrow walking path between two rows of seats is the ___.Ch.3
2To push someone hard and rudely is to ___.Ch.3
3‘Grouchy’ means friendly and easy to please.Ch.3
4A short or extra name that people call you is a ___.Ch.3
5Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.3
Word choices:crowdedstuffybumpylonely- some words will not be used
The bus had no empty seat left.
The road made our lunch boxes jump.
6A ‘stuffy’ room is full of warm air that is hard to breathe.Ch.3
7Someone who is not polite or kind to other people is being ___.Ch.3
8To ‘tumble’ is to fall over all of a sudden.Ch.3
9Fill in each blank with the correct word.Ch.3
Word choices:lonelyshoveaislenickname- some words will not be used
He felt on the long ride to a new school.
We walked down the to find two empty seats.
10A bus with too many riders and no empty seats is ___.Ch.3
Part 2
Comprehension
Show you understood what happens in Chapter 3.
🎨Knowledge Bank · Why the Room Is Split Into Centers
Education · Learning CentersA kindergarten room is not one classroom but several small ones. Teachers divide the floor into centers, and each center holds a different kind of work: wooden blocks, a water table, a shelf of picture books, a basket of puppets. Only four or five children fit in a center at a time, so groups stay small and every child gets a turn to talk. Teachers plan which centers a child visits, because a builder who never opens a book needs a gentle push toward the reading corner. Moving from one center to the next also gives young bodies a reason to stand, stretch, and begin again, which is why the room is designed to keep children in motion.
1How is the inside of the bus different from her family car?Ch.3
2Who is sat down beside Junie B. after the bus stops for him?Ch.3
3Junie B. touches the zippers on Jim’s backpack and tries to open one.Ch.3
4What does Jim do when Junie B. bothers his backpack?Ch.3
5Write the numbers 1–5 in the boxes to show the correct order of events in Chapter 3. Number 1 = what happens first.Ch.3
A boy named Jim gets on and is seated right next to her.
Mrs. helps her up but calls her by the wrong name.
The children push toward the door and Junie B. falls.
Junie B. climbs aboard and finds the seats hard and bare.
Jim shouts about his backpack and moves to another seat.
6What happens as the children get off the bus at school?Ch.3
7The bus driver helps Junie B. up after she is knocked down.Ch.3
8Why is Junie B. unhappy with what Mrs. calls her?Ch.3
9Junie B. rides the bus feeling perfectly calm and pleased the whole way.Ch.3
10Which sentence best describes Junie B. on this ride?Ch.3
Part 3
Literary Elements
Understanding HOW and WHY Barbara Park tells the story across Chapter 3.
🕑Knowledge Bank · The Same Steps, Every Single Day
Education · Classroom RoutinesKindergarten teachers repeat the same small steps until nobody has to think about them: hang the coat, move the name card, sit on the carpet, answer the question of the day. A repeated step like that is called a routine, and a class may practice one for a whole week before it runs smoothly. Routines are not really about obedience. A child who knows what comes next feels safe, and a brain that is not busy worrying has room left over for learning. Teachers also use quiet signals instead of shouting: a bell, two claps, a hand raised in the air. Once the steps become habits, twenty five-year-olds can move through a morning without one raised voice.
Narrator
The whole story comes out of a five-year-old’s mouth, so readers see only what Junie B. sees and hear only what she thinks.
Voice
Junie B. uses words in her own funny, mixed-up way. The mistakes are on purpose, and they tell us how young she is.
Humor
The funny parts come from the gap between what Junie B. believes and what readers already understand.
1Who tells this story?Ch.3
2Fill in each blank with the correct literary term.Ch.3
Word choices:narratorhumorrhymesetting- some words will not be used
The person who tells a story is the .
The place where a scene happens is the .
3Junie B. often uses words in a mixed-up way. Barbara Park does this to ___.Ch.3
4Readers hear Jim’s side of the backpack story in his own words.Ch.3
5Why does the bus ride feel so long in this chapter?Ch.3
6The funny parts come from the gap between what Junie B. believes and what readers understand.Ch.3
7The chapter ends with Mrs. saying the wrong name. Ending there mainly ___.Ch.3
8Because Junie B. is the narrator, readers learn what she is feeling right away.Ch.3
9Fill in the blank with the correct literary term.Ch.3
Word choices:voiceplotrhymestanza- some words will not be used
The special way a narrator sounds when she speaks is her .
10What does Junie B.’s way of talking tell us about her?Ch.3
Part 4
Think Deeper
Four deeper challenges — no single-word recall. Read, weigh the evidence, and reason it out.
🤝Knowledge Bank · Every Child Has a Job
Civics · Classroom JobsMost kindergarten rooms hang a chart of classroom jobs, and every name on it moves one space each week. There is a line leader, a door holder, a plant waterer, a snack helper, and a messenger who carries notes to the office. The jobs are small on purpose, so a five-year-old can finish one and see that it is done. Because the chart rotates, nobody keeps the best job forever and nobody is stuck with the dullest one. Jobs teach three ideas at once: the room belongs to everyone who uses it, shared work is lighter, and a promise matters even when it is tiny. That is a great deal of learning packed into one paper chart.
Think back over this chapter. A yellow bus that is bigger inside than any car, with long seats and no soft cloth on them. A stop, a door, and a grouchy boy set down right beside you by his own father. Curious fingers on the zippers of a bag that is not yours, then a shout, then an empty seat where the boy used to be. At school the doorway fills up all at once, somebody pushes, and the ground comes up fast. A teacher lifts you, brushes you off, and says a name that is almost yours but not quite. Nothing terrible has happened. Everything small has.
Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.
1Claim: “On this ride, other people keep deciding things for Junie B.” — choose the two details that best prove it.Claim & Evidence
2Things Junie B. does, or Things that happen to her? Tap each detail to send it left or right.Sort into two
◄ Things Junie B. doesThings that happen to her ►
3Match each cause to its result. For each cause, pick its result.Cause & Effect
Junie B. pulls at a zipper on Jim’s backpack→
The children all rush for the bus door at once→
Mrs. leaves the B out of her name→
The long bus seats have no soft cloth on them→
4Fill both blanks to complete the reasoning.Build the Argument
Junie B. tries to open a zipper on a backpack that is not hers, and Jim , which shows that .
Part 5
Standardized Test
Reading passage · A Room Built for Learning · Central Ideas & Words in Context · SAT & TOEFL-style practice
🎯 What this section practices
You already have these skills from the sections above — here they appear in the exact question types the SAT and TOEFL use. Read the passage (the highlighted words are tested below), then answer. Tap an answer to select it, then tap it again to confirm — you can change your choice until you confirm.
SATCentral Ideas — the main point of the passage as a whole
TOEFLFactual Information — a fact stated directly in the passage
SATWords in Context — what a word means the way this passage uses it
TOEFLVocabulary — the meaning of a tested word as this passage uses it
SATInference — a conclusion the passage supports without ever stating it outright
SATAuthor’s Purpose — what the author is trying to accomplish by writing this
Designing a Kindergarten Classroom
A kindergarten room is a tool for learning, and every corner of it is planned. Along one wall sit small open boxes called cubbies, one for each child, so a coat and a lunch box always have the same home. A wide carpet marks the place where the whole class gathers to sing, count, and listen to a story. The rest of the floor is split into centers: a block corner, a paint easel, a table of books, a tub of sand or water. Small groups move from one center to the next, because young children learn more by touching things than by sitting still. A chart beside the door lists classroom jobs, and every child holds one for a week. Nothing in the room sits there by accident. Picture labels on the shelves let a child who cannot read yet put a toy back in its proper place.
Original passage written for Garden Heights — not a quotation from the novel.
1What is the main idea of the passage?SAT · Central Ideas
2According to the passage, what is a cubby used for?TOEFL · Factual Information
3In the passage, cubbies means ___.SAT · Words in Context
4According to the passage, what happens on the wide carpet?TOEFL · Factual Information
5In the passage, centers means ___.SAT · Words in Context
6According to the passage, why do small groups move from center to center?TOEFL · Factual Information
7In the passage, proper means ___.TOEFL · Vocabulary
8According to the passage, picture labels help a child who ___.TOEFL · Factual Information
9The passage suggests that classroom jobs are shared because ___.SAT · Inference
10The writer mainly wants readers to understand that ___.SAT · Author’s Purpose
Part 6 · Optional
Creative Writing
A bonus challenge to practice your English. Take your time and have fun with it.
About This Section
This writing task is optional and is not part of your auto-graded score. The feedback below checks only the basics — length, spelling, and grammar — not whether your ideas are right or wrong. It is meant for classroom discussion and creative practice, so feel free to use your imagination!
Writing Task — Part 3 “A Room That Fits You”
Junie B. is brand new at school, and in Chapter 3 everything feels too big, too loud, and too fast. Think about a room where you feel comfortable. What is in it? Where do you put your things? What do you do first when you walk in? 5–8 sentences. End by telling us one thing you would add to a classroom to help a new child feel welcome.
You can start with: “The first thing I do when I walk into that room is...”
0 / 40 words minimum
🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)
No right or wrong — close the screen and tell someone nearby what happened in this part. Can’t find anyone? Tell yourself out loud. The moment you teach it, you truly understand it.
Part 3 Complete!
You finished Chapter 3 of Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus.
Here are your auto-graded results:
-
points out of 100
🗣 Teach It · Just for Fun (optional)
Teach it to someone
The best last step is to teach it. In your own words, explain what happened — retell a favorite scene, teach a character’s big choice, or sum up the main idea for a parent, friend, or classmate. When you can teach it clearly, you truly own it.
Independent study guide by Garden Heights. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Barbara Park. Contains original analysis only; no text from the novel is reproduced. Reference text: This workbook follows Barbara Park’s classic text (the standard Puffin edition sold worldwide). Revised 2023 UK editions change some wording and may not match the vocabulary studied here.
