Alliteration is a skill that stumps a lot of my students every year. Over the past few years, I have found that scaffolding the concept with a few of these activities has really helped them gain a better understanding not only identifying alliteration but also producing their own words that begin with the same sound.
When teaching alliteration, I start with identify if words that have the same beginning sound or a different beginning sound. Then, I move on to matching words that begin with the same sound. Finally, I have students produce words that begin with the same sound as a given word.
When students are new to the concept of alliteration, I like to start them off with a simple sort. When they are first learning, handing students a stack of cards and asking them to find the ones that begin the same can seem a little overwhelming. I have found that students get a much better foundational understanding of the concept when they are only given two words at a time.
I tried to make the words with different beginning sounds sound VERY different (elephant/jar, sock/volcano) so that it is easier for students to identify.
If you would like to use this sort with your students, you can find it here:
Once they are able to identify which words have the same beginning sound, students are ready to match words that begin the same way
I have these for every letter of the alphabet, but to start out, I usually only give students a few letters at a time. I really like these puzzles because students can use them to practice ABC order, alliteration, beginning sounds
and even sort hard and soft letter sounds
or long and short vowel sounds
This alliteration puzzle pack can be found here:
The last step is students being able to produce another word that begins with the same sound as a given word.
I like to play a few different games to practice this concept.
One of the students' favorites is based on an idea I got for Cara Carroll from The First Grade Parade (I basically LOVE anything that she does!)
I wrote several different words and pictures on these plate looking things (I think that's the technical term;) from a suction cup catch game. I got these at the dollar spot at Target a while back but you can find similar ones here.
Then, the students take turns throwing a beanbag (you could use the suction cup ball, a balled up piece of paper, whatever!) to a plate of their choosing.
Students must then produce a different word that starts with the same beginning sound as the word on their plate.
I have already seen a lot of progress in my students' ability to identify and produce words that begin with the same sound this year! I hope you find these activities useful in your own classroom! :)
What kinds of activities do you do to help children get a better understanding of alliteration?