All About Alliteration

It’s All About Alliteration with our Little Lemon Loaves recipe. Alliteration can be so much fun for kids to explore and we’re making it even more fun using food!

So, what is alliteration?  Alliteration is when two or more words (that are near each other in text) have the same beginning letter or sound.

Writers use alliteration to convey meaning or emotion, to create rhythm (like in poetry), or to emphasize a certain part of the text. Alliteration can also be used to…

• Grab the reader’s attention, like in an advertisement for a local children’s activity, “Bubble Blowing Bonanza!” or a clothing store, “Super Shoe Sale!”
• Make you laugh, like with tongue twisters such as “She sells sea shells by the seashore” or “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers”
• Help you remember something. Brands like to use alliteration to help you remember their products, as is the case with such brands as “Sesame Street” or “Chuck E. Cheese.”

So, how can we explore alliteration using food?  The easiest way to start, especially with younger kiddos, is to begin with two lists…one list with food names and one list with adjectives. Adjectives are words we use to describe how something looks, smells, tastes, sounds or feels.  Here are some examples…

Then, look for an adjective that starts with the same letter or sound as one of the foods on your list. If there are no matches, keep brainstorming! What alliterative phrases can you come up with? Yummy Yogurt, Amazing Avocado or Best Banana Bread?

• If your child cannot yet read, give them some choices. Ask, “Which words share the same beginning sound…crunchy cookie or amazing cookie? …scrumptious strawberry or yummy strawberry?”
• If your child is preschool-age or school-age, challenge them to use their alliterative food phrase to form a sentence. For example, “Kate ate crispy, crunchy cookies.” Challenge your child to make alliterative phrases or sentences using their family member’s names and favorite foods. They could even make up their own story!

The next time you cook or bake together, see if you can come up with a fun or silly alliterative title for your recipe, like we did with our “Little Lemon Loaves.” As a bonus, this fun activity might even encourage your little one to try something new…like “Zany Zucchini Chips” or “Crispy, Crunchy Cucumber Salad.”

For more great activity ideas and book recommendations about alliteration, check out this adorable teaching blog called The First Grade Parade. And for information about why writers use alliteration, check out The Classroom: Synonym.

Disclaimer: As with all of our activities, my suggestions for how kids can get involved are based on what has worked in our home.  Your child may be able to do more or less based on their age and/or ability.  As always, make sure you are properly supervising and engaging with kids that are participating in learning activities.