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Martha Speaks

From Reading Rainbow · 1995

Martha Speaks
28 minK1st2ndReading & Writing (ELA)
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Summary

In Susan Meddaugh's hilarious picture book, a dog named Martha eats alphabet soup and gains the power of speech — and won't stop talking. LeVar Burton explores the science of language and why vocabulary matters.

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All ages
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Teaching resources

Discussion questions

Discussion

Martha the dog eats alphabet soup, and suddenly she can talk — about everything.

  1. Why does eating the alphabet soup help Martha speak?
  2. Is it always a good thing to say everything you think? What problems does Martha have?
  3. What is the most interesting or funny word Martha uses?
  4. What new word have you learned recently? How did you use it?

Quick work-a-long

Vocabulary: communicate, vocabulary, alphabet, speech, language.

Try it: Find three new words in a book or the dictionary. Write each word and a definition in your own words. Then use each word in a sentence.