Glossary · Fluency and assessment
What is prosody?
Definition
Prosody is reading aloud with natural expression: appropriate phrasing, stress, intonation and pauses that match the meaning of the text.
Prosody is what makes reading sound like talking. A student with good prosody pauses at commas, raises their voice at a question mark, and stresses the word that matters in “I didn't say you could go.”
It's a sign of comprehension as well as fluency. To phrase a sentence well, you have to understand how its words group together. Flat, word-by-word reading often means the student is spending all their effort on the words.
Prosody is usually rated on a short scale, from word by word to smooth and expressive, rather than counted. Echo reading, phrase-cued text and readers theatre all build it. Modeling matters most: students need to hear fluent reading often.
In a lesson
A student reads, “Wait, she said. Is that my dog?” in a monotone. The teacher reads it with a quick pause after wait and a rising voice on dog, then has the student echo it.
Why does this matter for the record?
Rate prosody on a simple four-point scale alongside words correct per minute. Rate improvements often show in prosody first.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.