I am out here in the forest to clear my head. I need help teaching my students. I'm discouraged. 

Oh no, not another discouraged teacher. This is my fifth teacher this week. We need our teachers. It's Wise Owl to the rescue. What seems to be the trouble, my dear? 

Oh Wise Owl. My students need help with fluency. They are so bright, but I need your wisdom.

I'm always here to help teachers. It sounds like you need a lesson on accuracy, automaticity, and prosody. 

Yes, I think I remember something about that in graduate school. I'm afraid I had a date that night and missed that lesson.

Too much dating and not enough studying. Happens all the time.

It's time for this teacher to go back to school. Accuracy is making sure your students know the letters that go with a sound. For example, WHO sounds just like me. Now remember, students with a different first language may not have certain sounds in their language. Be patient. 

                                Owl School

Automaticity is when you read so much that some words become automatic. Students don't need help with them anymore. They've got those nailed. 

Prosody is my favorite. That's reading with expression. That's what makes reading fun for the listener. Be patient though. Students at different levels of language acquisition have different prosody levels.

I'm having graduate school nightmares again, but I think you're helping me. What else do I need to know for my students?

How many dates did you go on in graduate school? I think you missed some key lessons, but that's okay. We can make up for it now. Don't forget about tempo. This is how fast or slow someone reads. Haven't you heard someone read so slowly that you forget what they said at the beginning? Help you students maintain a good tempo. Remember, all of these things to help fluency will also help comprehension. 

It's getting late. I need to get home to that husband I married after going on all those graduate school dates. See those dates paid off after all. Do you have any other suggestions for my students, Wise Owl?