Alliteration Activities and Lesson Ideas
Alliteration is an entertaining literary device to utilize in reading and writing instruction.
By Dawn Dodson
As a child I remember reciting tongue-twisters in order to practice the “s” sound. For reasons unknown, I found the “s” to be one of the most difficult letters to pronounce. Eons later, I cannot only pronounce the letter “s”, but I can also enthusiastically recite the “Sally’s Seashore” poem. As a teacher, I find alliteration to be an entertaining and dramatic literary device to incorporate into reading and writing instruction.
Alliteration is one of the most entertaining literary devices for students to practice. I enjoy watching and listening to students read poems and tongue-twisters to one another. Shel Silverstein’s “Where the Sidewalk Ends” series is an excellent resource to introduce alliteration, as well as other literary devices. Silverstein’s work can be used for student sharing activities, partner reads, or as whole class examples during instructional time. Most of my students have experience with Silverstein’s poems which allows them to make connections between old and new concepts, and is enjoyable for them to explore.
More specifically, after introducing and reading examples of alliteration, students can choose their favorite poems or phrases to illustrate. As a part of writing instruction, students are invited to look for and/or add alliteration examples to their own writing during revision sessions. We discuss the role of such a literary device, and the appropriate writing situations in which to use it.
I also enjoy reading student-created poems and phrases that include alliteration. One website that I use is Kids Konnect. Kids Konnect has organized definitions and examples of literary devices, which I encourage students to revisit throughout the school year.
Alliteration is one of many literary devices that are taught all year long. It can be an entertaining experience for students and teacher alike. The following are more lesson and activity ideas using alliteration.
Alliteration Lesson Ideas:
Discovering Alliteration Style Poems
Students create an alliteration-style poem and use a website with Photoshop technology to illustrate their poem. This lesson combines language arts and technology.
After reading Shel Silverstein’s poems, students are assigned a letter of the alphabet. With Silverstein examples in mind, students create a poem with alliteration using the assigned letter.
Pictures in Words: Poems of Tennyson and Noyes
Students read and analyze poems by Alfred Lord Tennyson and Alfred Noyes in order to identify various literary devices including alliteration. Students compose examples of each.
Students learn about alliteration by collecting examples through research. As a culminating activity, students create their own alliteration poem.
