Martha Speaks Episode 1: The Cat Burglar

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.

General vocabulary to know

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


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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

1A Poster Image

Video Segment 1A

Helen's friend Truman comes for a visit. He has news about a problem.

1B Poster Image

Video Segment 1B

The soup that the dog eats is very special!

1C Poster Image

Video Segment 1C

The people are very surprised.

1D Poster Image

Video Segment 1D

The family has fun with Martha.

1E Poster Image

Video Segment 1E

Martha enjoys speaking.

1F Poster Image

Video Segment 1F

Martha stops speaking.

1G Poster Image

Video Segment 1G

The family is worried about Martha.

1H Poster Image

Video Segment 1H

Martha needs to eat some alphabet soup now.

Post-Viewing Quiz

The alphabet is all of the…
numbers
letters that make words

Post-Reading

In this episode, Martha was happy. But, she spoke a bit too much and became annoying. In other words, the family was bothered by Martha’s speaking. They screamed at Martha, and she became sad, not happy. Martha then became quiet. She no longer ate alphabet soup. Then, that evening, the family went to the movies. At home alone, Martha met the cat burglar! He wanted her to not bark, so he gave her some soup. Here are some questions for you:


What happened next?

Who came to help Martha and the family?

What caused Martha to speak?

In the end, is Martha speaking good or bad? Why?

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