Howland Tutoring Service

07/14/2022

Tomorrow night- A free showing of Akira Kurosawa’s film “Dreams” showing at the KinoSaito Art Center in Verplank, NY. RSVP tickets available on their website. https://www.kinosaito.org/events

03/22/2022

If you love maple syrup, why not visit White Oak Farm this weekend to see how it is made.

Our home page giving details of our history!

12/03/2020

The Japanese Virtual Film Festival (JFF) sponsored by the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens and the Japan Foundation starts tomorrow. Create a FREE account to enjoy an interesting lineup of Japanese films. The Film Festival is from Friday, December 4th through Sunday, December 13th, 2020.
All films and special lectures in this series are FREE. You'll just have to register in advance for the festival here:

Friday, December 4th through Sunday, December 13th, 2020 Cost: FREE with advance registration The Japanese Film Festival (JFF) is a project held by the Japan Foundation to promote Japanese film around the world. With a slogan of “Japanese Film Anytime, Anywhere.” This year, in addition to the co...

10/08/2020

S.C. Man Finds Life-saving Kidney for his Wife
On the Road with Steve Hartman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD2dXhjDu5w
Listen for Vocabulary
one way or another = somehow
to be hospitalized
kidney
desperately
no shame
organ donor
vital organs
begging
palpable
to offer
a mighty bunch
Oh, my goodness!
miracle
Lieutenant-Commander
a gut instinct
to accost
doubt that will be a problem
Listen for information
What did Larry Swilling do to “re-write his wife’s final chapter?”
How old was Larry when he began walking around his hometown of Anderson South Carolina begging for a kidney?
How long have Larry and Jimmy-Sue been married?
When did thousands of people call (CBS) to offer their kidneys?
What did more than a hundred people do?
What did retired Navy Lieutenant-Commander Kelly Weaverling do?
What did Kelly say Larry should do to thank her?

Listen to a heavy southern accent (1:19)
There’s a ______ ______ ___ ____ ______ out there, there’s ______ ____ help.

As part of our continuing series, "On the Road," Steve Hartman catches up with a man whose wife was suffering kidney failure. After his story first aired on ...

08/24/2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO0YwQ2Mtfg
Listen for Vocabulary
(to) defy explanation
lobster traps
to have company
a faithful companion (used most often with dogs)
stalker (gull friend)
to show up
(to) suffer a leg injury
seagull
(to) tear up
emotionally crushed
in an attempt to ___
(to) nurse someone
(to) spoil someone
good as new
back into the wild
Atta girl! / Atta boy!
fourth generation
soul
an ancestor
(to) look out for someone
mystical
purpose

Listen for Information
How long has John been a lobsterman in Maine?
Who is John’s “stalker girlfriend”?
What did John nickname her?
How long had John known her?
What happened to Redeye a few months ago?
What did John do in an attempt to save the seagull?
What is Redeye’s favorite kind of fish? (Bonus points!)
For centuries, what have boat captains believed about seagulls? (More bonus points!)

For Discussion
Tell me about a faithful companion (animal or human) that you have had.

Being a lobsterman out in the middle of the ocean can be a lonely job. But for 15 years, Captain John Makowsky had an unusual, but delightful, company in a s...

08/18/2020

Howland Tutoring Serviceの先生は教える才能以外に様々な才能もあります。この動画でAkiko Kobayashi先生のバイオリン才能を楽しんでください。
In addition to teaching, our teachers have some other amazing talents. Here, Akiko Kobayashi shows us hers. Enjoy.

08/06/2020

Traditional Firefly Catching
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dERYY_KhCbw
Vocabulary
Fireflies = lightning bugs
airborne
flashing
wide-mouth mason jar
circular metal screen
land
pinch
squeeze
glow
multiple = many
squish
males = boys, men
females = girls, women
substantial amount
vegetation
dusk
glowing like crazy

Questions
How should you catch fireflies? Do you have to squeeze them? (:55)
How many fireflies should you catch if you really want them to glow? (1:20)
Which fireflies are the first to come up from the grass? (2:00)
How can you tell which are female fireflies? (2:20)
What does putting vegetation in the jar do? (2:45)
When is the best time to catch fireflies? (3:00)
What is dad going to do after the kids go to bed? (3:55)

How to get fireflies to flash in a jar. Catching fireflies in a firefly jar is a fun craft for country crafts. A firefly jar is a good diy craft for country ...

08/03/2020

Stand By Me
by Ben E. King
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTCfQ6Bb8QE&list=PLCTnsY4jhCCzNQzH4roRgmfWPWQs5vEDD&index=1

Do this
First, close your eyes and listen to see if you can follow the lyrics. Next, listen again while reading the lyrics. Last, listen again with your eyes closed to see if you could catch more of the English.

Vocabulary
to be afraid = to be scared
Darling
Stand by me
to look upon = to look at
stumble
crumble
to shed a tear
as long as___
Whenever you’re in trouble
Questions
1. Why does he want her to stand by him?
2. Why won’t he cry if the ‘mountain should crumble to the sea’?
3. Who do you have to stand by?
4. What kind of music do you like?

07/28/2020

Morgan Freeman’s Top 10 Rules for Success
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3fN41pif-4&t=345s

Phrases

word of mouth

a long haul / in it for the long haul

The proof is in the pudding. / The proof in the pudding is in the eating.

Pull yourself up by the bootstraps.

so and so

give it your best shot

to the best of one’s ability

to make it (as an actor)

an eye-opener

____ is going to be my thing

Give 110%

Questions

1. Tell the story of Mrs. Lipton.

2. Why didn’t the Shawshank Redemption get much word of mouth?

3. What kinds of questions did Morgan Freeman ask when he auditioned for parts? Use the example from the remake of “The Thing.”

4. What are your rules for success?

He's an American actor, producer and narrator. He won an Academy Award in 2005 for Best Supporting Actor with Million Dollar Baby. He's ranked as the 3rd hig...

07/22/2020

The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Read by Rose Byrne
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_LeUSA-qIg&list=PLVkRno2M8Jkpso5VkXR32GK8nIBBEygCa

Questions
What happened to Peter’s father in Mr. McGregor’s garden?
What did old Mrs. Rabbit take on her trip to the baker’s?
What did Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail gather along the lane?
Where did Peter go when his siblings were on the lane?
Where Peter lose his shoes?
Who implored Peter to exert himself when he gave himself up for lost?
Why was the can a bad place to hide?
Who did Peter meet at the locked door?
What was she carrying?
Who was staring at some goldfish?
What was the first thing Peter saw from the wheelbarrow?
Who made a scarecrow with Peter’s jacket and shoes?
What did Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail have for supper?
Why did Rose Byrne choose to read this book?

The Tale of Peter Rabbit is written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter and read by Rose Byrne. The quintessential cautionary tale, The Tale of Peter Rabbit wa...

07/13/2020

The Elves and the Shoemaker Read by Chrissy Metz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6SrbWwVKAs

shoemaker
leather
flabbergasted
stare
magnificent
paid double the price
on and on
splendid
not long before Christmas
What if we ____?
agreed
elves
tiptoe
humming and whistling
sturdy
delicate
feather-light
We must give them something in return.
Now we’re elves so fine to see, no longer cobblers we will be!

Questions
1. Why were the shoemaker and his wife flabbergasted when they went into the workshop the next morning?
2. Who bought the first pair of shoes the elves made and how much did he pay?
3. What did the shoemaker do with the money from the first pair of shoes the elves made?
4. Not long before Christmas, what did the shoemaker’s wife suggest they do?
5. Match the shoe to the word that describes it.
delicate dancing shoes
sturdy clogs for work
feather-light riding boots
heavy slippers

6. What did the shoemaker and his wife do for the elves in return?
7. Why does Chrissy Metz like this book so much?
8. Did you like this story?

The Elves and the Shoemaker read by Chrissy Metz, retold from the Brothers Grimm and illustrated by Jim LaMarche. The story is a simple one, of a poor shoema...

07/02/2020

Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
episode 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfo1XJDJKSU
Vocabulary
get a pulse on ______
threatened
colorblind
first generation American
racially ignorant
engrained into our culture
depth
dimensions
a confederate general
oppress
execute
cancer
a lightbulb went on in my head
We’ve come a long way
slavery
Jim Crow
the new Jim Crow
no doubt about it
cautious
a negative interaction
lethal
matriarch

Questions
What does Emmanuel say about being “colorblind”? (2:00)
When and why does Emmanuel go to Nigeria? (3:47)
Tell the story of the Nigerian woman who got glasses for the first time. (3:47)
What happened 53 years ago? (6:30)
What does Emmanuel say would have happened if this were 70 years ago? Why? (6:45)
Is Emmanuel afraid of white people? (7:18)

For Discussion
What can we do to make things better?

Chip & Joanna Gaines sit down with Emmanuel Acho to have an uncomfortable conversation about teaching their kids to "see color" and Emmanuel Acho is asked, "...