Patient dog helps Pennsylvania children learn to read


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It's story time at the library inside Thomas Fitzwater Elementary school in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

It's fourth grader Kayla Lombardo's turn to read to her school mates.

Of all her listeners, there's one Kayla likes to read to the most.

Her name is Shelby.

She's 7-years-old and she's a collie.

The biggest bookworm at this school is actually a dog.

Principal Joanna Rodgers says shelby comes to story time once a month.

It's been that way for three years.

During that time, Dr. Rodgers said the kids have been they've made dramatic strides in their reading fluency.

"It's less threatening. They know the dog is listening," she explained. "They know they're not going to have to correct their mistakes."

Perhaps the most important thing kids learn from Shelby is that it's okay to make mistakes, just as long as they fix them with dogged determination.

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Aditi Roy, NBC Newschannel

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