English lesson plan · 7th grade (Year 8 in England) · 30 minutes
Sound devices: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia
Vocabulary
CCSS RL.7.4CCSS L.7.5England: KS3 Reading (poetry)England: GCSE English Literature (poetry)
Objective and success criteria
Students will: Sound devices: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia.
- I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
- I can explain each step and say why it works.
- I can check my answer and spot a mistake.
Before and after
Needs first: Figurative language: personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia
Leads to: Poetic structure: enjambment, caesura, volta, refrain…
Materials: Word cards, A thesaurus or dictionary, A short text with the target words, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).
Warm-up · 4 min
- Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Figurative language: personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
- Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.
- Which technique is used here? The angry sea swallowed the little boat. (simile / personification / hyperbole / onomatopoeia) → personificationPrompt: Is it an exaggeration, repeated starting sounds, a sound word, or a thing acting like a person?
- Which technique is used here? The fire crackled and hissed. (onomatopoeia / metaphor / hyperbole / simile) → onomatopoeiaPrompt: Is it an exaggeration, repeated starting sounds, a sound word, or a thing acting like a person?
- Which technique is used here? We waited for ages and ages — about a hundred years! (personification / metaphor / alliteration / hyperbole) → hyperbolePrompt: Is it an exaggeration, repeated starting sounds, a sound word, or a thing acting like a person?
Hook · 3 min
- Show an interesting word in a sentence and ask what it might mean from the clues around it.
- Share the objective: Sound devices: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia. Read the success criteria together.
I do: model it · 7 min
- Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
- Example: Which sound device matches this description? The same consonant sound repeated at the START of nearby words.
- Step 1: Sound devices make writing musical and memorable: alliteration (start sounds), assonance (vowel sounds), consonance (inner/end consonants), onomatopoeia (sound words).
- Step 2: alliteration: The same consonant sound repeated at the START of nearby words.
- Step 3: So the answer is: alliteration
- Answer: alliteration
- Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.
We do: guided practice · 6 min
- Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
- Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.
- Which sound device matches this description? A word that imitates the sound it describes. (alliteration / consonance / assonance / onomatopoeia) → onomatopoeiaPrompt: Where in the word is the repeated sound: the start, the vowel inside, or the middle/end?
- Which sound device is used here? Bang! The firework exploded. (consonance / onomatopoeia / assonance / alliteration) → onomatopoeiaPrompt: Read the line aloud and listen for the repeated sound.
You do: independent practice · 7 min
- Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
- Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.
The 6 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.
Exit ticket · 3 min
- Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.
- Which sound device matches this description? A word that imitates the sound it describes. (consonance / assonance / onomatopoeia / alliteration) → onomatopoeiaPrompt: Where in the word is the repeated sound: the start, the vowel inside, or the middle/end?
- Type the sound device (in English) that matches this description. The same consonant sound repeated in the MIDDLE or at the END of nearby words. → consonancePrompt: Where in the word is the repeated sound: the start, the vowel inside, or the middle/end?
Watch out for
- Picking a "bigger" synonym that doesn't fit the meaning.
- Ignoring the clues in the rest of the sentence.
Support and stretch
Support
- Review first: Figurative language: personification, hyperbole, alliteration, onomatopoeia.
- Use concrete materials: word cards.
- Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
- Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.
Stretch
- Move on to: Poetic structure: enjambment, caesura, volta, refrain….
- Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
- Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.
Homework and more practice
Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-7.
Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder