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New Year Penguin Tongue Twisters 2nd Grade Alliteration Craftivity Lesson

Do you teach alliteration? Every New Year my second graders have had such fun creating Penguin Tongue Twisters for their newly crafted penguins to display.

Young students LOVE using alliteration in tongue twisters. Teaching alliteration in many grades is fun and useful, but is especially appropriate for Common Core Standard RL.2.4 for 2nd grade Reading: Literature. RL.2.4 – Describe how words and phrases (e.g., regular beats, alliteration, rhymes, repeated lines) supply rhythm and meaning in a story, poem, or song.

When we return from Holiday Break in January, the students each make their own boy or girl penguin. Or sometimes, we actually craft the penguins during the last few days before break, so they are ready for us when we return.

Crafting our Penguins

I’ve made templates for the penguins that can be copied unto construction paper (white, black, and orange as needed). Or, card stock patterns can be made for students to trace around. Either way works great. After cutting out the parts, this is how the penguins are assembled:

Glue the wings down to each side of the black body piece.

Center and glue the white body piece onto the black piece.

Glue the eyes, beak, and feet in place.

Finally, glue the boy cap or girl bow onto the head.

Voila! Now the penguin is ready to hold and display an awesome Penguin Tongue Twister.

Writing our Penguin Tongue Twisters

Before we begin writing our alliterative tongue twisters, we practice and discuss what alliteration is and how it can be used in tongue twisters. I share several tongue twister passages like these, and we have a blast trying to say them quickly.

Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. A peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked. If Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper pick?

How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood? A woodchuck would chuck all the wood he could chuck if a woodchuck would chuck wood.

I also usually read a good picture book that uses alliteration such as Faint Frogs Feeling Feverish by Lilian Obligado.

By this time, my students have a good feel for alliteration, so I ask them to tell me what it is. Responses include the idea that alliteration is the repetition of words with the same beginning sound.

Now I have my students do some alliteration practice with different beginning sounds.

Then, we brainstorm words with the “p” sound before each one begins writing his or her own Penguin Tongue Twister.

A draft page is provided for them to write, edit, and rewrite their tongue twisters as needed.
I require them to have more than three words that begin with “p”. Here are some examples:

Patty Penguin put pretty pearls in her purse.

Paul Penguin picks up purple plums.

Penny Penguin plays the piano.

Plenty of pretty penguins play on the ice.

Finally, they write the final draft of their tongue twister on a Penguin Tongue Twister Writing Frame and glue it onto their penguin’s hands to display. Here’s how they look when finished: