common spelling: 
ur: fur, blur, turn, urgent, urn, curve, occur, hurt, curl, curb, purple, turkey
ir: stir, sir, quirk, smirk, circus, bird, girl, firm, third, circle 
er: verb, prefer, *herb, herbal, fern, term, stern, German, Germany, serve, service, servant

Less frequently:
ear: earn, earnest, heard / or: word, world, work, worship / our: adjourn, journey, journal

Rare: 
ere: were


PRACTICE: 
- turn it off
- heard the words
- slow as a turtle
- first things first
- the worst is yet to come
- Herb left work early on Thursday.
- The early bird catches the worm.
- The girl saw the circus first.
- The servant served dessert.
- Irma had her thirty-third birthday.

1. The girl wear a purple skirt.
2. The Germans bake good desserts.
3. At Thanksgiving we serve turkey.
4. People worship in a church.
5. I heard the chirping of the bird.
6. Another word for handbag is purse.
7. A permanent makes your hair curly.
8. I prefer the scent of that perfume.
9. You should learn your nouns and verbs.
10. A person collects unemployment when he is out of work.


Dialogue
A: Have you done your homework?
B: Not yet.
A: Then why are you watching TV?
B: This is my favorite show.
A: Go do your homework.
B: But, mom!
A: You can watch TV after you do your homework.
B: But the show will be over.
A: There will be another show next week.
B: Please?
A: You know the rules.
B: I hate the rules! I can’t wait till I grow up.


Reading I
The man set the woman on fire. She was a dancer in a night club. The man came to the night club once a month. He asked the woman for her phone number. She said no. “I don’t even know you,” she said. “Why would I give you my phone number?” He told her that he was in love with her. She told him that he was crazy. How could he be in love with her? He didn’t even know her. He didn’t know anything about her. He finished his drink and paid for it. He left the night club. He sat in his car in the parking lot. She was glad that he left. Later she went outside to smoke a cigarette. The man got out of his car. She did not see him or hear him. He poured gasoline on her and threw a match on her. She was on fire. She started screaming. She ran into the night club. The manager put the fire out with his jacket. But her face and hands were badly burnt. No one would ever ask for her phone number again.



Reading II

The baby bird was in his nest. He was in his nest with his sister. Their nest was high up in the tree. They were waiting for mama bird. Mom always brought them food. They were hungry. When would mom come home? Would she bring them a worm? Would she bring them a fish? Would she bring them a piece of bread? What would mom bring them? They looked at the squirrel. The squirrel looked at them. The squirrel put a nut in their nest. The birds looked at the nut. How could they eat a nut? They didn’t have strong teeth. The squirrel has strong teeth. The baby birds had no teeth. They had beaks, but no teeth. They heard mom. They knew her voice. They knew the sound of her wings. She brought them some food. It was still warm. It was delicious. It was pizza. It was pizza with cheese. Baby birds love pizza with cheese. They were so happy. How delicious!



Reading III
January 3 is Benny’s birthday. He will be eight years old. He is in the third grade. He goes to Park Elementary School. An elementary school is for kids. It is only one mile away. He walks to school. It only takes 30 minutes. When it rains, he wears a raincoat. He used to take an umbrella. But he lost the umbrella. His mother gave him another umbrella. He broke that one. His mom said, “You and umbrellas don’t get along.” For his eighth birthday, Benny wants a bicycle. He can ride the bike to school. After school he can ride with his friends. He can ride the bike to the swimming pool. He can ride the bike to the library. His mom and dad took him to the bike store. They asked him to look at the bikes. He looked at all the bikes. He chose a red bike. He showed his parents. Dad said it cost too much. He told Benny to choose another bike. Benny chose a purple bike. Dad said the purple bike was the right price.