Maya was a fourth-grade student at Maple Grove Elementary School. She liked going to school because she got to see her friends and learn new things. Her teacher Mrs. Carter was kind and always tried to help her students. Maya enjoyed school even though it sometimes made her nervous.

Maya had two best friends named Jordon and Lily. Jordon loved playing soccer and was really good at math. Lily loved drawing and can make beautiful pictures of animals. The three of them enjoyed spending time together.

Maya had dyslexia, which made reading and spelling harder for her. Sometimes, letters and words got mixed up, and she needed extra time to read. Maya was a smart student who enjoyed learning, but she sometimes worried the other kids would think she was not smart. she wished more kids understood that everyone learned in different ways.

One Monday morning, Mrs. Carter stood in front of the class with an exciting announcement. 

"We are going to work in groups to create a science poster and present it to the class!" she said.

The students cheered, but when she announced they would be presenting to the class maya started to feel nervous.

Mrs. Carter put Maya, Jordon, and Lily in the same group. They decided to make their poster about the solar system. Jordon wanted to draw, Lily wanted to decorate, and Maya wanted to write. Everyone had a job and worked together! Maya began to worry thinking about practicing presenting, because some of the words were hard for her to read. she didn't want to make a mistake in front of the whole class.

The next day, the group practiced reading their poster. When it was maya's turn, she tried to read a fact about Jupiter but got stuck and tried reading it again.

Someone at another table laughed and maya felt embarrassed. her cheeks turned red, and she looked down at the paper. She didn't want anyone to see she was upset. she wondered if she should just let Jordon and Lily do all the work instead.

At recess, Lily noticed Maya was unusually quiet. "what's wrong?" she said.

Maya explained how she felt embarrassed that she got stuck trying to read a fact about Jupiter and that someone laughed at her.

Lily listened and said, "you did great, just because reading is hard doesn't mean you are any less smart."

Maya felt better knowing she had friends that cared for her.

Later that day, Mrs. carter noticed Maya having trouble practicing. Maya explained that she had dyslexia and felt nervous reading in front of the class. Mrs. Carter wanted to make sure Maya felt safe and supported. She explained to the class everyone learns differently and it is never okay to make fun of someone for that.