"Good morning!" Said Mr. Cox as he started his class. "Today we are going to start learning about one of my favorite topics in biology. Does anyone here know what the function of a mitochondria is in a cell?"

The class stared at Mr. Cox with no one being eager to answer. It was, after all, only 8:30am. Most of the students only woke up less than an hour ago. Finally, Josiah raised his hand.

    "The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!" He replied.

    There was a murmur among the students as they laughed. They all had been thinking the same thought, but were too afraid to share it.

    "Why yes it is! However, there is more to it than that! Today you are going to be reading an article that expands upon that very idea by demonstrating the power of cellular respiration, the name of the process that occurs in the mitochondria."

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell!

"Class, I am going to pair you up so you can read through the article together. This is going to help with your comprehension, or understanding, of the text." Mr. Cox said.

    Mr. Cox placed Josiah with Josiane, hoping that they could help each other out in their reading comprehension.

He handed out the text and said, "I want you and your partner to practice repeated readings. That means you will read through the article at least three times! Each time you should focus upon something new. As you read, fill out the graphic organizer for each new vocabulary term you come across."

    While students began to work, Mr. Cox quickly realized that despite the helpfulness of the graphic organizer, he did not pre-teach vocabulary effectively for students to read this article.

    Josiah asked, "Mr. Cox, how do you say this word?"

    "That's a great question! I think that I am actually going to explain this in front of the whole class as you aren't the only student asking this question."

Glycolysis, Kreb's cycle, electron transport chain, synthesis...

"Class, I think that before I have you resume your reading with your partner, it would benefit us to do some choral reading to practice word pronunciation. Let's first practice the key vocabulary together!"

    Mr. Cox then led the class through multiple key words such as glycolysis, Kreb's cycle, electron transport chain, and others, making sure that students could accurately say each word. Afterwards, he led the class through a choral reading of the first two paragraphs to make sure students could read fluently and give his CLD students, such as Josiah, a chance to hear others speak out loud.

    "Why do you think it is important to know how to read vocabulary terms correctly?" Mr. Cox asked the class.

    "To increase our fluency in reading scientific text!" Josiane replied.

    "Can you explain to the class what that means Josiane?"

    "Fluency is the ability to accurately read a text and comprehend the content being presented to us!"

    Mr. Cox beamed with pride at Josiane for her answer!

Fluency is the ability to accurately read a text and comprehend the content being presented to us!