Luna the tiny kitty began her work day by walking into the pet hospital. 

Luna loved her job. Each day she worked with pets who had to stay for weeks at the hospital.

She always made sure that no one stayed behind with their school work.

Hi Simon!

Hi Luna!

Luna visited the first room of the day. She was ready to help! "Hello, Simon! How are you feeling today?" said Luna.

"Hi Luna, I am feeling a little better today," said Simon. 

"Great to hear! Are you ready to start on your reading work?" asked Luna.

"Ummm...I think so Luna" said Simon.

Simon was nervous to work on his reading assignments. A few days before he had told Luna that he did not like to read.

"What do you need to do for your reading class today Simon?" said Luna

"Well, the teacher said that I need to work on my reading fluency but I don't know what she means. I think my reading skills are fine. I don't want to read!" said Simon

Suddenly, Simon looked as if he wanted to cry.

"It's okay Simon, don't worry. I am here to help you. We can figure this out together" said Luna. 

"First, let me explain to you what your teacher means. Your teacher wants you to work on your reading fluency. Reading fluency is the ability to read accurately, smoothly and with expression" said Luna.

"Really Luna? I don't like to read and I think I read just fine! I do not want to practice," exclaimed Simon.

"It is okay Simon. Practicing your reading skills is how you get better at reading. You can't give up on reading so quickly. We need reading for everything in life!  It is a great power to have," Luna emphasized.

"Well, I suppose we can try to practice!" said Simon nervously.

Waaaahhh!

Simon started to try to read the first sentence. He stared and stared at the sentence but he could not read a single word!

Simon began to cry loudly! "I'm sorry Luna but the truth is that I can't read! I don't know how!"

"Don't worry Simon! I can show you how to read," said Luna.

"Okay Simon, let's try to first work on your accuracy. Good readers know which sounds go with each letter. When you know that, then you can start to find patterns and break apart words," explained Luna.

Wow!

A big brown dog ran fast.

Luna began to teach Simon how each letter in the alphabet makes certain sounds. Then, she had Simon practice and practice. 

After some time, Simon could read the first and second sentence on the page. "You are doing such a great job Simon!" Luna meowed.

Repeat, Repeat!

""You need to keep practicing everything I am showing you Simon. Repeated readings can help you to automatically recognize sounds and patterns in the words" said Luna. Simon began to read the same sentences over and over.

"Good! When you keep practicing these strategies, your accuracy and your reading rate increases," explained Luna.

Thank you Luna!

""Wow! squealed Simon. Your are so helpful!" 

"I am glad I can help you Simon. Now..your reading rate is important because it is the speed of how you are reading. You cannot read to slow or too fast. You must remember to read at a good speed," said Luna.

"Let me show you a good reading speed" expressed Luna. 

Luna began to read and she modeled a good reading rate. Simon listened carefully.

Wow Luna! You read great," said Simon. "Thank you Simon" said Luna. 

Not too slow, not too fast!

"I try to read at a good rate because it helps me understand what I am reading. If I read too fast, I cannot understand what I am reading. So pay attention to your reading rate because it helps with your reading comprehension" said Luna.

"Now it is your turn Simon," meowed Luna. So Simon began to read. As he read, he made sure he was not reading too slow or too fast.

Prosody??

Good job!

"Your reading rate was good. You did not read too fast or slow. There is just one other thing you need to work on." said Luna.

"What is it? asked Simon. You need to work on your prosody as you read" exclaimed Luna. 

"Prosody? What does that mean?" asked Simon.

"Prosody is the ability to convey expression. A good reader not only pays attention to their rate while reading; they also listen to their tone. You must pay attention to how high or low your voice sounds. When you read, pretend like you are speaking to someone. Try not to read like a robot" explained Luna.

"Let's go talk to someone who is really good at this," said Luna.

"Hi there, Piko!" said Luna.  "Hi" said Piko.

"This is my friend Simon. I am helping him practice his reading. You have read to me before and you read with prosody. Can you please model to Simon how it sounds?" explained Luna.

"Well sure I can!" said Piko.