One of my favorite things to do when I visit schools is to hold a "poetry race." I'm sure your students will enjoy this fun--and easy--poetry activity as much as I do. Whether you do this activity as a competition or simply for fun, your students will die laughing as they become totally unglued while trying to recite this tongue-twister of a poem.

The poem I use for the race is a traditional tongue tripper (and lip flapper), "Betty Botter." If you're going to stage the race as a competition, divide the students into teams or let them compete against one another individually. Then get a stopwatch, let everyone practice the poem a few times, and see who can say it correctly the fastest!

		Betty Botter Betty Botter bought some butter. "But," she said, "the butter's bitter. If I put it in my batter, it will make my batter bitter. But a bit of better butter-- that would make my batter better." So she bought a bit of butter, better than her bitter butter. And she put it in her batter, and the batter was not bitter. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a bit of better butter! --By Anonymous		How good a tongue twister are your students? 40 seconds and over: Too slow. Your grandparents could say the poem faster. 30 to 40 seconds: Not bad. You're probably a faster talker than the President. 20 to 30 seconds: Pretty good. You've been gifted with a fast pair of lips. 15 to 20 seconds: Excellent. You can out talk anyone around. 14 seconds or less: You are a tongue tying champion!
	If you're looking for a new challenge, try "Betty Botter's Biting Beaver" from Funny Little Poems for Funny Little People: Betty Botter's Biting Beaver Betty Botter bought a beaver. But the beastly beaver bit her. So she bought a biting badger. And the badger bit the beaver. Since the badger bit the beaver, now the beaver will not bite her. So 'twas better Betty Botter bought a beaver-biting badger. © 2002 by Bruce Lansky, reprinted from Funny Little Poems for Funny Little People, published by Meadowbrook Press. A word to the wise: the more often your students practice reading this poem out loud, the faster, and smoother, they'll be able to read it. Here's one more tip: tell them to take about three deep breaths before they start reading. They might be able to read the whole poem on a single breath of air. OK, Are they ready? Get set. Go try it again! Poetry Race and Betty Botter poem copyright 1999 by Meadowbrook Press