General vocabulary to know
Pre-Reading
In the first episode, we meet Helen’s family, her pet dog, and her friends. Helen lives in a house in the U.S.A. with her parents and her little brother, Jake. One day, Helen feeds Martha alphabet soup for lunch. Many children love alphabet soup because the noodles look like the letters of words.
But for Martha the dog, the soup is very special. It helps her to speak like a human! At first, everyone finds this to be funny. But, later, they are tired of Martha speaking a lot. They want her to speak less. At the end, there is a big surprise.
The Main Characters |
|---|
Martha is a dog, not a human |
Helen, the girl |
Truman, the boy and a friend of Helen |
T.D., the boy and a friend of Helen |
the mom |
the dad |
Jake, the little brother of Helen |
Carolina, Helen’s cousin |
Other characters | |
|---|---|
a burglar |
someone who steals |
a cat burglar |
someone who breaks into a house to steal |
a scientist |
a person who studied science |
the police |
the people who help when there are problems |
Vocabulary
Parents and Teachers: This vocabulary does not need to be memorized in order to watch the episode. But reading first will be helpful. We call this the “front-loading” of the vocabulary. This way, the student has some knowledge of the vocabulary words when he or she comes upon them. It also helps the student to see the words in context to know what will be coming in the episode.
Unlike the specific scene vocabulary to help the student comprehend the viewing scenes, this vocabulary here is a general, working vocabulary for the English language. Much of this vocabulary will be repeated in many episodes throughout the entire program.
to talk |
how a human speaks |
to speak |
the same as “to talk” |
to express |
to explain, to talk about an idea |
to discuss |
to express your ideas with another person |
to shout |
to talk loudly at someone |
to scream |
like “to shout,” but often this is when someone is scared or afraid |
to whisper |
to talk in a soft, low voice so others cannot hear |
to bark |
the loud noise a dog makes when communicating |
to jabber |
to speak for a long period of time without stopping |
to cook |
to prepare food |
to eat |
to take in food |
the meals |
there are 3 of these in the day in the United States |
breakfast |
the first meal of the day |
lunch |
a small meal in the middle of the day often at school or work |
dinner |
usually a large meal with the family in the evening |
the alphabet |
these are the letters that make words (A,B,C,D,E, and so on) also called “the ABC’s” |
soup |
a hot liquid broth with vegetables, noodles or rice, and meats |
alphabet soup |
a type of soup many children enjoy because the noodles have the shape of letters |
a home, a house |
a place where a family lives |
“at home” |
to be in the house |
a daycare center |
a place where small children play and learn while parents are at work |
a school |
where children ages 4 to 18 go to learn |
at the movies |
in a movie theater to watch a movie |
to “go to the movies” |
to go to watch a movie in a theater |
a dog |
a canine |
a cat |
a feline |
a human |
a person, either male or female |