English · Spotting sound devices in a line of writing
Sound Spotter
This line uses ALLITERATION. Tap every word that starts with the repeated sound, and only those words.
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Why this works
The repeated sound here is "c", and it lives in "clever", "crabs", "crept" and "cold". Alliteration is a sound that repeats at the START of words that sit close together, which is why the little joining words are never part of it however they are spelled. Writers use alliteration to make a phrase stick in your head, which is why you find it in adverts and headlines as often as in poems.
Helping a child through Sound Spotter
Hints, least revealing first
- Say the line out loud and listen to the very start of each word. Alliteration is a sound that comes back, not a letter that comes back.
- Little joining words like "the", "and" and "of" never count, however they start. Look only at the words carrying the meaning.
- 4 words share the sound "c" here.
When they finish it: “Every word carrying the sound, and no others!”
11+ skill this exercise practises
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Sound Spotter practises one skill. English has 41 of them
A free diagnostic covers every english skill and the other three subjects, and comes back with a shortlist rather than a list.