Saturday, March 5, 2016

Phrases for the Day


Art is man's attempt to improve on nature.

Laughter has no foreign accent.

Work well done is art.

To teach is to learn again.

Saturday, February 27, 2016

"S" vs. "Z" Practice

Voiceless "TH" Practice

Corrections from Transcriptions


Phrases
they kind of
they have no choice
at all
other countries
700% 
they're entire economy
extremely poor people
the death of imports
trying to find a balance
It's not as terrible as you might think

Words
definitely
because
countries
Venezuela

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Warmup


Short Tongue Twisters
  • A big bug bit a bold bald bear and the bold bald bear bled blood badly. 
  • Brisk brave brigadiers brandished broad bright blades, blunderbusses, and bludgeons -- Balancing them badly. 
  • Can you can a canned can into an uncanned can like a canner can can a canned can into an uncanned can? 
  • If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully. 
  • Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie. 
  • The sixth sick sheik's sixth sheep's sick.
Tongue Twister Poems
    I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's mate,
    And I'm only plucking pheasants 'cause the pheasant plucker's late.
    I'm not the pheasant plucker, I'm the pheasant plucker's son,
    And I'm only plucking pheasants till the pheasant pluckers come.
    A tutor who tooted the flute
    Tried to tutor two tooters to toot
    Said the two to the tutor
    "Is it tougher to toot
    Or to tutor two tooters to toot?"
    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.
    Three sweet switched Swiss witches
    Watch three washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switches.
    Which sweet switched Swiss witch watches
    Which washed Swiss witch Swatch watch switch?
    Theophilus Thadeus Thistledown,
    The successful thistle-sifter,
    While sifting a sieve-full of unsifted thistles,
    Thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb.

    Now, if Theophilus Thadeus Thistledown,
    The successful thistle-sifter,
    Thrust three thousand thistles through the thick of his thumb,
    See that thou, while sifting a sieve-full of unsifted thistles,
    Thrust not three thousand thistles through the thick of thy thumb.

Trump Interview on Fox News

Justices Scalia Dies

Rosetta Stone

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Puerto Rico Health Official 'Very Concerned' About Zika's Spread






1 They love us very much.
2 The sun is up in the sky.
3 The ducks will start to run.
4 Does she have some gum? I have none.
5 He is cutting the butter now.
6 I love ducks.
7 He got stuck with his truck.
8 She poured some juice from the jug into the mug.
9 We are done.


Sunday, January 24, 2016

A Great Article

Vowel Practice



The sound [u:] as in RULE

rude – rule – rumor – ruin – brutal – truth – June – junior – Julia – Luke – Lucy – lunatic – luminous – parachute;
do – two – who – whom – whose – lose – move – prove – tomb – shoe; improve;
too – zoo – food – mood – cool – school – fool – foolish – pool – tool – boom – room – groom – moon – soon – choose – soothe;
boot– root – shoot – booth – tooth – boost – rooster – goose – loose – proof – roof;
group – soup – wound – coupon – route – routine – souvenir – boulevard – through;
flew – blew – crew – drew – Jew – jewel;
blue – glue – clue – true – cruel – fluent;
fruit – juice – juicy – cruise – bruise;
rheumatism; rheumatic – leukemia – lieutenant.



Thank You's and Their Responses

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Large Numbers

"TH" Practice

Initial Voiceless TH Phrases and Sentences


thank you note
empty thermos
thick meat
sneaky thief
sore thigh
thin slice
think often
third birthday
very thirsty
number thirteen
turn 30
sharp thorn
blue thread
number three
thumbs up
green thumbtack
noisy thunder
Thursday night
She left a thank you note on the computer.
I have hot chocolate in my thermos.
I like to eat thick steaks.
He is a car thief.
His thigh was sore from working hard.
We asked for the sliced roast beef.
She goes to the park to think.
Today is her third birthday.
The boy was thirsty after running.
My address is 13 Park Place.
She turned thirty in May.
The rose bush has a sharp thorn on it.
WIll you grab the blue thread?
She hung a three on the side of her house.
She gave him a thumbs up.
I put a thumbtack on the map.
The thunder was loud.
The party is on Thursday night.

Medial Voiceless TH Phrases and Sentences


competitive athlete
mystery author
white bathrobe
big bathtub
birthday party
breathless runner
massive earthquake
healthy eating
green mouthwash
have nothing
black panther
big python
blue stethoscope
bad toothache
orange toothbrush
green toothpaste
short toothpick
youthful grandparents
The athlete entered the high jump event.
The author mostly wrote mysteries.
My bathrobe is nice and soft.
She wanted to clean her bathtub.
He invited his friends to his birthday party.
He ran so much he was breathless.
The earthquake destroyed the road.
They are eating healthy food.
Mouthwash makes your mouth feel fresh.
There is nothing in his pockets.
The panther is resting.
The python is wrapped around the tree.
The stethoscope is on the floor.
Her toothache was painful.
The dentist gave her a new toothbrush.
Toothpaste will help keep your teeth clean.
He has a toothpick in his mouth.
My grandparents are very youthful.

Final Voiceless TH Phrases and Sentences

hot bath
strong blacksmith
phone booth
see your breath
planet earth
fifth person
fourth place
nice locksmith
math problem
spotted moth
girl mouth
head north
under oath
long path
drive south
pretty teeth
white tooth
holiday wreath
He took a nice hot bath.
The blacksmith makes old-fashioned swords.
She made a call from the phone booth.
She could see her breath in the cold.
We live on planet earth.
She was the fifth person in line.
He came in fourth in the race.
The locksmith is fixing it.
She is working on a math problem.
The moth landed on the branch.
She has white teeth in her mouth.
The compass said to walk north.
She made an oath to tell the truth.
It is a long path through the woods.
They followed the sign to go south.
She has very white teeth.
The dentist pulled her tooth.
The door has a beautiful wreath on it.

Voiceless TH Reading Paragraphs


Thatch's Goals

The boy playing third base is good. His name is Thatcher, but his friends call him Thatch. His baseball team is called "Blue Thunder". He is from South Dakota and he's very athletic. 
Thatch plays third base on the baseball team. He also plays basketball, tennis, and youth soccer - not bad for a thirteen-year-old. He has been playing sports since he was three. Thatch wants to play one or all of the sports professionally someday. 
Last month I asked him if he had thought about which sport he wanted to play. 
"I'll play anything if I can get paid to do it," he said. 
I told him I thought he would be a pro baseball player and he gave me a thumbs up. 
He is on the right path if playing pro sports is his dream. He was voted third for the best player in the state and tenth for best player in the region three weeks ago. His parents think he will play tennis, but said they don't have the authority to make that decision. 
The earth has a lot of great sports players and I think Thatch can play with the best of them. I hope nothing gets in his way. It will be fun to say I knew him when he was only thirteen.

Exploding Cake

Thad liked to prank and scare people. He played the most jokes on people when he was in the fifth grade. He put thumbtacks on chairs, thickener in drinks, and told the class that their pet python had escaped. His favorite pranks were to turn the thermostat down really cold to try and freeze students out and to replace student's soda with mouthwash. 
A few days ago, Thea brought in a cake to celebrate her birthday. Somehow, Thad got a balloon inside of it so when the teacher tried to cut the cake, it exploded all over everyone. 
Thad had a lot of fun thinking of new ways to prank his classmates. His teacher, Ms. South, didn't think it was healthy. She knew Thad was a very thoughtful writer. He was also very smart in math. She thought his writing was so good that he could become an author someday. 
Overall, Thad's grades were in the top three percent of his class. Ms. South didn't want Thad's talent and thoughtfulness go to waste. She thought about what methods she could use to help him focus in class and not cause so much trouble. Thad wanted to be in theater after he graduated high school. Ms. South told Thad that he could be in theater after he graduated. 
"You're so smart! I think a thousand theaters would want you to work for them, but you have to stop the pranks," she said. Thad started to rethink his actions and what that would mean for him in the future. He apologized to the class and Ms. South, and said he would not prank anyone anymore. 

Turning Thirty

Thelma's birthday was on Thursday and she couldn't decide how to celebrate. She was turning thirty and wanted this birthday to be special. 
One idea she had was going to a steak house. A thick juicy steak would be part of a perfect meal for her birthday. Going to the spa and getting a massage would be therapeutic. Of course, that can be expensive, so if necessary she could just take a warm bubble bath. 
Something she really wanted to do was sit outside and eat popcorn during a thunderstorm, but she couldn't control the weather, so she would keep that as a backup plan. She had always wanted to visit South America too, but would have to save her money for a trip like that. Thelma thought about a short trip she could take and remembered the zoo was close by. 
"The zoo had pythons, panthers, and a new mammoth exhibit, and those would be fun to see," she thought. All of this thinking was taking her strength. Thelma only had three hours of sleep last night because she had been up reading a case study for her ethics class. A moth had flown in her house and distracted her while reading. The distraction had kept her up later than she planned. 
Thelma thought for a minute and decided that she would take a nap. "Everything will fall into place on Thursday," she thought, "As long as I know what I want to do, everything will work out." She closed her eyes, her breath softened, and she fell asleep on her couch. 

NPR Story: Politics