Alliteration Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: RL.2.4

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

Alliteration is a technique writer's will often use to create a sense of flair to a sentence. It is where they will take and place a series of words that begin with the same consonant sound in the same sentence. They are sometimes referred to as tongue twisters, but there is much more to them. You couldn't have gotten this far in life and not have heard the classic alliteration: She sells seashells by the sea-shore. The overall purpose of using alliteration is to ultimately draw attention to something without directly pointing to it. You can do this by creating a rhythm or rearranging a sentence to carry an emphasis toward a word or concept. Alliteration can also be used to create an overall mood or tone to a piece of work. This is very evident in poems. We often see it used to create a witty and amusing thought with an overall comedic effect. This collection of worksheets will not only have you identifying, but creating sentence using this literary device.

Alliteration Worksheets To Print:

Big Sounds! - This worksheet is very noisy. Bash, boom, bang! Making music means you might make many noises. Music is its own language, filled with many sounds. Alliteration also helps creates noises and sounds in the English language. What will happen when we mix music and alliteration together?

The Tongue - See if you can make sense of these tongue twisters. Write your own tongue twister about the words that are listed. Use at least three other words that contain the same letter as the word given in order to create use of this technique-and a tough tongue twister!

Adventures in Alliteration ADVERBS - If you smack an adjective and verb together, this is what you would get. Rewrite the following sentences using as much alliteration as you can. You may change any words in the sentence except the adverb, which is underlined. The meaning of the rewritten sentence must be the same as the original.

Silly Rhymes - Underline all of the alliterative words. We have all heard the same old nursery rhymes, but how can you change them to add more alliteration-and make them sillier? Let's practice finding and then using this technique with some famous sentences.

Weather Brainstorm - It is true! There are literally millions of possible answers here. The weather is a major part of our lives: from wind to rain to sunshine, we experience weather every day. Work with a partner or small group and list how many alliterative phrases you can come up with using the alphabet!

Identifying Alliteration - Identify which first consonant sounds are repeated in the sentence by writing the letter in the space provided, then highlight the words that contain those first consonant sounds.

Practice Makes Perfect - Try putting those sayings in your own words-be sure to include as much as alliteration as possible.

The Forgetful Family - Be sure to show how all of the following family members aren't good at remembering what they need for the beach, and don't FORGET to use alliteration!

The Sounds of Poetry - Read the poems below and, line by line, highlight examples of alliteration.

Tell Me What It's Like - Take a look at the items below. You are given just a few words that tells you what something is in a very plain way.

A Tasty Thanksgiving - Using alliteration, write the most tantalizing, scrumptious sounding descriptions of each piece of the meal in the spaces provided.

Alliteration Around The World - Now try and see if you can find the alliteration in the sentences below, highlighting or underling the same way as in the previous exercise.

The Four Seasons - For each of the seasons listed below, brainstorm as many words and phrases as you can that belong to that season that begin with the assigned letter.

Adventures in Alliteration: Nouns + Verbs - Match the noun on the right with the verb on the left.

The Crocodile - You will be the editor, or the person who makes changes to the poem.

Why Do Writers Use Alliteration and How Do We Know When They Do?

When a writer is trying to emphasize something in the story, they will often turn to using Alliteration. Authors will often use this to provide the reader with some breadcrumbs. These breadcrumbs can be placed to provide insight or confuse the reader. It is entirely up to the author. We might be writing a murder mystery and use alliteration to describe the key suspect. We could even throw the reader's head spinning by using the technique when describing several different suspects. In that case, the reader will be left to their own to see how they feel about this. Alliteration is often used in poetry. The technique simply lends itself perfectly to the format.


When you are trying to identify an author's use of alliteration you should start by sounding out the entire sentence. You goal is to find two or more words that have identical beginning consonant sounds. You need to remind yourself that the entire sentence does not have to follow this technique; just two words will do it. Also remember that different letters can produce the same sound. An example of this technique can be found in the sentence: Dudley took tons of time to toss his towel. While many students think that this technique is impossible to use themselves, I find just having a word list available makes it a simple technique to use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



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