Drama Game: Tongue Twisters (The Ultimate List!)

As a drama teacher, you’re probably familiar with a handful of tongue twisters that you introduce to your students as a rehearsal warm up.

Tongue Twisters, Kid

Tongue twisters are great for helping kids concentrate on working all their articulation muscles. And they’re just plain fun. 🙂

I’ve compiled below a list of some of my favorite that you can mine from for your next rehearsal.

Before introducing a new tongue twister I usually ask my students to crinkle their face as tiny as possible for 5 seconds. Then to make their face as big as possible for 5 seconds.

Then I’ll introduce the tongue twister, and we’ll practice it as a group. After that I’ll ask a few brave students to stand and attempt to say it 5 times in a row.

Make sure you encourage them to use their “stage voice” when speaking.

Another great variation is to have the group stand in a circle, then ask each student to say the tongue twister in a different emotion. (Angry, sad, happy, scared, frustrated, confused, etc.)  Or, begin to your right and challenge the students to begin happy but gradually get progressively more and more angry as students take turn around the circle.

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If you have a favorite tongue twister that isn’t included here, leave it in a comment below!

Tongue Twisters for Kids

Unique New York

Three free throws

Red Leather, Yellow Leather

I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I thought.

One-One was a racehorse.
Two-Two was one, too.
When One-One won one race, Two-Two won one, too.

Say this sharply, say this sweetly,
Say this shortly, say this softly.
Say this sixteen times very quickly.

Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers! (Repeat. Increase the tempo.)

Silly Sally swiftly shooed seven silly sheep.
The seven silly sheep Silly Sally shooed Shilly-shallied south.
These sheep shouldn’t sleep in a shack; Sheep should sleep in a shed.

Red Bulb Blue Bulb Red Bulb Blue Bulb Red Bulb Blue Bulb

Red Blood Blue Blood

I wish to wish the wish you wish to wish, but if you wish the wish the witch wishes, I won’t wish the wish you wish to wish.

She sells seashells on the seashore.

Mix a box of mixed biscuits with a boxed biscuit mixer.

A proper copper coffee pot.

Toy boat. Toy boat. Toy boat.

Betty bought butter but the butter was bitter, so Betty bought better butter to make the bitter butter better.

I thought a thought.
But the thought I thought wasn’t the thought I thought I thought.
If the thought I thought I thought had been the thought I thought, I wouldn’t have thought so much.

How much wood could a wood chuck; chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood.

Comical economists.

Which wristwatches are Swiss wristwatches?

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,
Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked?

Sascha sews slightly slashed sheets shut.

She should shun the shinning sun.

The big black back brake broke badly.

The big beautiful blue balloon burst.

A shapeless sash sags slowly.

Smelly shoes and socks shock sisters.

Which wrist watches are Swiss wrist watches?

Dick kicks sticky bricks.

Shave a single shingle thin.

Stick strictly six sticks stumps.

Cinnamon aluminum linoleum.

New York is unanimously universally unique.

Cooks cook cupcakes quickly.

Flora’s freshly fried fish.

A bragging baker baked black bread.

Buy blue blueberry biscuits before bedtime.

She sold six shabby sheared sheep on ship.

The sixth sick sheik’s son slept.

These thousand tricky tongue twisters trip thrillingly off the tongue


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55 thoughts on “Drama Game: Tongue Twisters (The Ultimate List!)

  1. Michelle says:

    “The skeleton ran out of shampoo in the shower”

    “Let’s have some fun this beat is sick I wanna take a ride on your disco stick”

    “Which WRIST WATCH is a swiss WRIST WATCH”

    Red Leather, Yellow Leather
    Good blood, bad blood

    • David says:

      she sells sea shells by the sea shore.
      the shells she sells are surely sea shells
      So if she sells shells on the seashore,
      I’m sure she sells seashore shells.
      But… should she sell sea shells or should she sell shoes?

  2. Karleigh says:

    Whether the weather be cold, or whether the weather be hot, we’ll be together whatever the weather whether we like it or not.

    She stood on balcony inexplicably mimicking him hiccuping and amicably welcoming him in

    Moses supposes his toses are roses but Moses supposes erroneously

    • Deb Schuey says:

      Moses supposes his toeses are roses but Moses supposes erroneously
      For nobody’s toeses are posies of roses, as Moses supposes his toeses to be.

  3. Julia says:

    Articulatory agility
    is a desirable ability
    manipulating with dexterity
    the tongue the palate and the lips

    Are you copper bottoming it my man? No I’m aluminiuming it!

    Literary literature literally littered the library table.

  4. Sandy says:

    Maria Tuchena techaba su choza y Chucho el techador que por alli pasaba le dijo Maria Tuchena techas tu choza o techas la ajena, ni techo mi choza ni techo la ajena techo la choza de Maria Tuchena –

  5. Pamela says:

    Betty Botter Bought some Butter But she said this Butters Bitter if I put it in my Batter it will make my Batter Bitter But a Bit of Better Butter will make my Batter Better so she Bought a Bit of Butter Better than her Bitter Butter and she put it in her Batter and it made her Batter Better so twas Better Betty Botter Bought a Bit of Better Butter.

  6. rashanda brown says:

    tutors tried to teach tooters how to toot but tutor couldn’t teach tooters how to toot but tooters could teach tutors how to tut

  7. Leyla says:

    “What a to do to die today at a minute or two to two. A thing distinctly hard to say and harder still to do. For there’ll be a tattoo at a quarter to two with a rattat tattat tattat too and the dragon will come when he hears the drum at a minute or two to two today, at a minute or two to two.”

    • Deke Eusey says:

      Wrong. It’s:

      Oh, here’s a to-do to die to-day
      At a minute or two to two,
      A thing distinctly hard to say,
      But a harder thing to do.

      For they’ll beat a tattoo at two to two,
      A rat-a-tattoo at two Boohoo!
      And the Dragon will come
      When it hears the drum
      At a minute or two to two to-day,
      At a minute or two to two !

      Why hullabaloo? You die to-day
      At a minute or two to two,
      A thing distinctly hard to say
      But an easy thing to do !
      For they’ll beat a tattoo at two to two,
      A rat-a-tat-tat tattoo for you!
      And the Dragon will come
      When he hears the drum;
      There’s nothing for you to do but stay,
      And the Dragon will do for you !

      From the opera ‘Merrie England’, libretto by Edward German
      https://archive.org/stream/merrieenglandnew00germuoft/merrieenglandnew00germuoft_djvu.txt

  8. Kendra says:

    Sally sells sea shells by the seashore while sitting in the sands of the summer sunshine.

    Ooo eee ooo ahah ting tang walla walla bing bang.

    • Kendra says:

      To sit in solemn silence on a dull dark dock of a pestilential prison with a lifelong lock, awaiting the sensation of a short sharp shock on a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block.

  9. Espen says:

    A Tooter who tooted a flute,
    tried to tutor two tutors to toot.
    Said the two to the Tooter:
    Is it harder to toot or to tutor two tutors to toot.

  10. Andrea says:

    oh you hear the diggers say as they’re heading for the bay
    You gotta dig a duck, dig a duck, dig a duck a day
    For I get a buck a duck when I dig a duck a day
    Gotta dig a duck, dig a duck, dig a duck a day

    Dig a duck, dig a duck, dig a “gooey” duck
    Dig a duck, dig a “gooey” duck, dig a duck a day

  11. Jackie Lewis says:

    Bobby bibby bought a bat. Bobby bibbyy bought a ball. With bobs bat Bob banged the ball. Banged it “boop” against the wall. But so boldy Bobby banged it, that he burst his rubber ball. Boo cried Bobby. Bad luck ball, bad luck Bobby, bad luck ball. So to drown his many troubles, Bobby Bibby’s blowing bubbles.

  12. Starr Thuerauf says:

    To sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark, dock, In a pestilential prison, with a life-long lock, Awaiting the sensation of a short, sharp, shock, From a cheap and chippy chopper on a big black block!

  13. April says:

    Here’s one the kids are sure to love:

    One smart fellow, he felt smart.
    Two smart fellows, they felt smart.
    Three smart fellows, they all felt smart.

    • G. Smith says:

      OMG! I’m 62, and of all the tongue twisters on this page, this one had me rolling on the floor, laughing at myself as I tried to say it repeatedly without stumbling! You’re right… Kids will love it! ?

  14. Ellie says:

    Here’s another version of the Dragon one. “What a to do to dine today at a minute or two till two a thing distinctly hard to say yet harder still do to at a minute or two till quarter till two with a rat a ta tat a ti tatta ta too and the dragon will come at the beat of the drum at a minute or two till two today at a minute or two till two.

  15. Vinod Kumar K says:

    A cup of proper coffee in copper coffee cup.
    Double bubble gum bubbles double.
    Spicy fish sauce.
    Pass the pink peas please.

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  17. Shy Shoelaces says:

    The happy hungry hippos do have a hilarious hug. The harmless hugs helped the hippos heave Harry horizontal for he was hallucinating.

  18. Don Womble says:

    Toni, Tori, and Twila, three talented tongue twister tester/untwister triplets, tested three twisted tongue twisters. Two tongue twisters were untwisted by two of the triplets. The other triplet’s twisted twister was too twisted to untwist. Toni and Tori took Twila to task, telling her to test her twisted tongue twisters more thoroughly before trying to untwist them.

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