Alliteration and Assonance

Sound is meaning. 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers' (alliteration). 'The rain in Spain stays mainly in the plain' (assonance). Indirect aim: poetic ear, preparation for reading poetry aloud, appreciation of sound-sense.

• Framework: Montessori
• Unit: Language
• Learning area: Style & Figurative Language
• Level: Ages 7-9

Objectives

• Define alliteration (repeated initial consonant) and assonance (repeated vowel)
• Identify both in poetry
• Compose original examples
• Use for sound effect in writing

Materials

• Poetry samples rich in sound
• Nursery rhyme anthology
• Sample sentences
• Writing journal

Instructions

1. Read nursery rhyme: 'Peter Piper...' — alliteration on P. 2. Read poem: 'rain/Spain/mainly/plain' — assonance on long A. 3. Find in Shakespeare, Hopkins. 4. Compose alliterative sentence. 5. Compose assonant line. 6. Read aloud; hear the effect. 7. Use in original poem. 8. File.

Educator tip

Nursery rhymes are the original sound-play. Even at 8, children love them.

Assessment

Observe identification and sound-rich composition.

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