I gave my sophomore kids a diagnostic test today. Multiple choice/things they should know. It didn’t really go as well as planned and, by that, I mean it went poorly. “The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words” got 50% correct answers. That’s alliteration. “Rhyming the vowel sounds in the middle of words” got 50% correct answers. That’s assonance. And these are kids in honors English, which is why I chose not to cap honors.
Of my 30 regular kids who turned in a paper (one chose not to) 20 out of 30 missed the alliteration question, 22 of 30 missed the assonance one.
I used to lay blame in places, but I go back to previous posts. A kid can only get so many free passes. The olive branch can only be extended so many times. At Day 9 I sit at the crossroads and wonder what the next 171 days have in store. I read their writing this weekend–it was just fine. And then there’s 33% on an alliteration question. MIXED SIGNALS. But, once again, their writing is fine, which means you have to DRILL AND KILL these terms in their heads. It’s like math. If you don’t know what eight times seven is, you are doomed by 3rd or 4th grade. Learn it over and over, practice it, and perhaps it will stick.
Luckily for me, I speak to my students. Tomorrow I will ask them what’s what. Really? You’re a sophomore in high school and don’t know what alliteration is? In multiple choice format? The other choices were repetition, onomatopoeia, assonance, and imagery. I suppose if they knew their lit terms that they might think repetition of consonant sounds could be repetition. After all, it has the same word in it. And onomatopoeia deals with sounds, as does assonance, and imagery. But if you knew these things, you would also know the answer was alliteration. Really rough ’round here.
My students watch Youtube videos of Matty B and Jacob Sartorius. I will include the latter so you can vomit a little in your mouth. Everyone thinks cussing in songs and adult themes are the cause of problems in this world–I argue that the damned will be punished in Hell by having to listen to these children fulfil their parents’ dreams. Not for the squeamish. Oh, and 30 million views.
http://https://youtu.be/IvxRsDpXPGo