User:Ellen Kaplan/sandbox



Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) is a research-based literacy program designed to foster reading engagement and comprehension. Our perspective about the teaching of literacy is that when students are deeply engaged in reading, they will thoroughly comprehend text. Our program fosters engaged reading through the teaching of reading strategies, the fostering of conceptual ideas and inquiry skills, with explicit support of intrinsic motivation.123

The objective of CORI is to increase the amount of engaged reading through the use of explicit cognitive and motivational supports or scaffolds. In terms of motivational support, the CORI program stresses the use of interesting and authentic texts, the affordance of meaningful choices during reading, the encouragement of collaborative interactions with other students to pursue knowledge, and the experience of hands-on activities.2 Cognitively, the CORI program stresses the learning of conceptual ideas as opposed to a litany of facts that have no meaningful connections. Therefore, the program focuses on integrating reading instruction with a meaningful conceptual topic, such as the Civil War, which lends itself well to deep reading and thinking. For example, focusing on essential questions, such as pondering about the conflict between states or understanding the economic factors of war allow readers to understand patterns and relationships, which is the heart of understanding Social Studies. To help students cope with complex texts, CORI fosters strategic reading through inferencing, summarizing, using background knowledge, questioning, and concept mapping. Students become engaged with interesting texts, while receiving instruction on reading strategies and support for their motivation.4

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) demand deep reading. To respond to the CCSS, it is crucial to find ways to bridge the gap between students’ skills and reading materials. Engagement is the bridge between students and the texts. Engaged students actively dig into reading. They try to understand; they seek knowledge. Engaged readers want to grow by actively pursuing information or by having a literary experience. Unfortunately, students often fail to read as well as they are capable, and too many students are disengaged and avoid reading whenever possible. Therefore, the goal of the CORI program is to expand students’ engagement in reading and increase students’ desire to read abudently.2

Program Specifics

CORI instruction can take place within the domain of any subject matter at any grade level. Lessons are developed for the express purpose of increasing student engagement. In turn, students’ amount of reading increases, and ultimately, their use of reading strategies, intrinsic motivation, and achievement increase.5 Following are the core principles of the CORI program.

In a CORI unit, the reading instruction is integrated with another academic domain, such as Social Studies or Science. Students are introduced to conceptual themes, such as the economics, culture, and politics of the Civil War or the symbiotic relationships among organisms in Ecology. The instructional focus then becomes the mastery of conceptual content, rather than the simple memorization of facts. Rich texts on the subject of the Civil War are made available to the students, and along with strategy instruction and motivational support, deep understanding of an important concept develops.6 This shows our emphasis on thematic learning.

The CORI program focuses on the use of interesting, authentic and conceptual reading materials. The texts students read are optimally challenging for each learner. Students are expected to increase the complexity of the texts they read as they begin to understand the content. To help students unlock these information texts, teachers give motivation support and strategy instruction. The teacher support for motivation in this unit includes the encouragement for success, provision of choice, emphasis of reading importance, and opportunity for collaboration. Each of these teaching practices supports the reading engagement of the student. These supports for motivation are paired with strategy instruction, where inferencing, summarizing, and concept mapping are taught using subject matter texts and concepts.7

When teachers encourage success, students feel more capable of performing tasks and are more likely to persist when faced with challenges. What follows is an example of a 4-week unit. CORI units have also been implemented in eight months, three months, six weeks, and four weeks in different school districts. During Week 1 of a CORI unit, teachers ask students to reflect on motivational questions such as, “What are some characteristics of the text you read today that helped you succeed as a reader?” When paired with reading strategy instruction, this support for success is highly effective.7, 1

During the second week, teachers scaffold the provision of choices while teaching students how to summarize passages on their particular topic. Students are given choices that are meaningful and appropriate for their instructional levels. Teachers also ask students to reflect on the choices they made throughout each lesson for the week, and guide the students in making choices that will promote reading engagement. Students feel more autonomous and are more likely to select text or activities that are intrinsically motivating to them.7, 1

The value of reading is well understood by teachers and administrators, but may not be immediately accessible for students. In the third week of a CORI unit, the value of reading is established through emphasis on reading importance. As teachers show students how to create concept maps that are graphic representations, they are also making explicit connections between engagement and reading achievement. Students are encouraged to discuss the process of gaining knowledge through reading (i.e., What idea can you explain now that you learned from reading? Why is it important to know?). Students who value reading will spend more time reading, and will work harder to employ reading strategies that lead to successful reading comprehension.7, 1

Finally, teachers provide opportunities for collaboration in Week 4. While many teachers already encourage teamwork and sharing with partners, a CORI unit is meant to guide teachers in being thoughtful about how they can best support collaboration. Students are able to share contrasting perspectives about the impact of war during this week, and work together to build new knowledge. Students are encouraged to use each other as resources, rather than relying on the teacher every time they need help or have a question. Collaborating with peers within a heterogeneous group also allows for struggling readers to learn from peers, and for advanced readers to articulate their expertise.7, 1

The reading strategies explicitly taught in this unit are inferencing, summarizing, and concept mapping. These strategies were chosen because of the need for these skills when deciphering historical events and the cause-effect relationships often explored in social studies. During the first week, teachers support motivation by promoting success, and concurrently teach the strategy of making inferences while reading. Students are taught to ‘read between the lines’ and to reach a deeper understanding by figuring out the author’s implications. Summarizing is emphasized in the lessons during the second week of the unit. Teachers spend time modeling the best way to construct a summary of progressively larger portions of text. The activities are scaffolded so that students can comfortably move from whole class instruction to eventually writing their own summaries. Graphic organizers are particularly useful in exploring complex concepts, and in Week 3, teachers introduce concept mapping. Concepts are laid out graphically for students to see how all of the pieces fit together. By the end of the week, students are creating their own concept maps, and with the motivational support of promoting reading importance, they see the utility of these maps for future reading. Finally, during Week 4, students get to practice making inferences, writing summaries, and creating concept maps.

In keeping with a guided reading model of instruction, lessons are also provided for small groups at the struggling reader, on-grade level, and advanced reader levels. Plans for writing and independent reading are also included, and a closing activity is provided as a conclusion for the lesson.

Teacher training modules, classroom videos, related research articles and books, and research findings in elementary and middle schools on the CORI website www.corilearning.com provide necessary information to become further acquainted and informed about this program.

CORI Origins

Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) began in a project sponsored by the National Reading Research Center (NRRC) at the University of Maryland and the University of Georgia from 1992-1997. We developed CORI in collaboration with teachers in Prince George’s County Public Schools, Maryland, including Calverton, Hyattsville, and Catherine T. Reed Elementary Schools. Most publications appearing before 2001 were based on that project.

Program Goals

Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction (CORI) is a research-supported framework for integrating curriculum with instruction and fostering long-term engagement in reading. CORI is a practical model that helps teachers plan integrated units of instruction based on their own interests and strengths, as well as meet the Common Core State Standards. CORI provides compelling ways to:


 * (1) connect reading and writing to science, social studies, and/or math
 * (2) create an active, collaborative classroom environment
 * (3) use real-world observations to promote strategic thinking and learning
 * (4) get students involved in setting and pursuing their own knowledge goals
 * (5) develop creative assignments, build student portfolios, and evaluate progress

Additional Readings
1. Books Guthrie, J. T. (Ed.). (2008). Engaging adolescents in reading. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., & Perencevich, K. C. (Eds.) (2004). Motivating reading comprehension: Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

2. Peer-reviewed Journal Articles Ho, A. N., & Guthrie, J. T. (2013). Patterns of association among multiple motivations and aspects of achievement in reading. Reading Psychology, 34, 1-47.

Guthrie, J. T., Coddington, C. S., & Wigfield, A. (2009). Profiles of motivation for reading among African American and Caucasian students. Journal of Literacy Research, 41, 317-353. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., McRae, A., Coddington, C. S., Klauda, S. L., Wigfield, A., & Barbosa, P. (2009). Impacts of comprehensive reading instruction on diverse outcomes of low-achieving and high-achieving readers. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 42, 195-214. Download – for personal use only

Coddington, C. S., & Guthrie, J. T. (2009). Teacher and student perceptions of boys’ and girls’ reading motivation. Reading Psychology, 30, 225-249. Download – for personal use only

Taboada, A., Tonks, S. M., Wigfield, A. & Guthrie, J. T. (2009). Effects of motivational and cognitive variables on reading comprehension. Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 22, 85-106.

Klauda, S. L. & Guthrie, J. T. (2008). Relationships of three components of reading fluency to reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 310-321. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., Hoa, L. W., Wigfield, A., Tonks, S. M., Humenick, N. M., & Littles, E. (2007). Reading motivation and reading comprehension growth in the later elementary years. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 32, 282-313. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., Hoa, L. W., Wigfield, A., Tonks, S. M., & Perencevich, K. C. (2006). From spark to fire: Can situational reading interest lead to long-term reading motivation? Reading Research and Instruction, 45, 91-117. Download – for personal use only

Lutz, S. L., Guthrie, J. T., & Davis, M. H. (2006). Scaffolding for engagement in learning: An observational study of elementary school reading instruction. Journal of Educational Research, 100, 3-20. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., Humenick, N. M., Perencevich, K. C., Taboada, A., & Barbosa, P. (2006). Influences of stimulating tasks on reading motivation and comprehension. Journal of Educational Research, 99, 232-245. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T. (2004). Teaching for literacy engagement. Journal of Literacy Research, 36, 1-30.

Ozgungor, S., & Guthrie, J. T. (2004). Interactions among elaborative interrogation, knowledge, and interest in the process of constructing knowledge from text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 437-443. Download – for personal use only

Wang, J. H., & Guthrie, J. T. (2004). Modeling the effects of intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, amount of reading, and past reading achievement on text comprehension between U.S. and Chinese students. Reading Research Quarterly, 39, 162-186.

Wigfield, A., Guthrie, J. T., Tonks, S., & Perencevich, K. C. (2004). Children's motivation for reading: Domain specificity and instructional influences. Journal of Educational Research, 97, 299-309. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., & Davis, M. H. (2003). Motivating struggling readers in middle school through an engagement model of classroom practice. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 19, 59-85. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., & VonSecker, C. (2000) Effects of integrated instruction on motivation and strategy use in reading. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 331-341. Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., Van Meter, P., Hancock, G. R., McCann, A., Anderson, E., & Alao, S. (1998). Does Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction increase strategy-use and conceptual learning from text? Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 261-278. Download – for personal use only

Swan, E. (1998). Motivational and cognitive influences on conceptual knowledge: The combination of science observation and interesting texts. (Doctoral dissertation). Download – for personal use only

Guthrie, J. T., Van Meter, P. McCann, A. D., & Wigfield, A. (1996). Growth of literacy engagement: Changes in motivations and strategies during Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 31, 306-332.

3. Chapters Guthrie, J. T., Wigfield, A., & You, W. (2012). Instructional contexts for engagement and achievement in reading. In S. Christensen, A. Reschly, & C. Wylie (Eds.), Handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 601-634). New York: Springer Science.

Guthrie, J. T., & McRae, A. (2011). Reading engagement among African American and European American students. In S. J. Samuels & A. E. Farstrup (Eds.), What research has to say about reading instruction (4th ed.). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Swan, E. A., Coddington, C. S., & Guthrie, J. T. (2010). Engaged silent reading. In E. H. Hiebert & D. R. Reutzel (Eds.), Revisiting silent reading (pp. 95-111). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Wigfield, A., & Guthrie, J. T. (2010). The impact of Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction on students’ reading motivation, reading engagement, and reading comprehension. In J. L. Meece & J. S. Eccles (Eds.), Handbook of research on schools, schooling, and human development (pp. 463-477). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Guthrie, J. T., & Coddington, C. S. (2009). Reading motivation. In K. Wentzel & A. Wigfield, (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 503-525). New York: Routledge.

Wigfield, A., Tonks. S., & Klauda, S. L. (2009). Expectancy-value theory. In K. R.Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 55-75). New York: Routledge.

Guthrie, J. T., Rueda, R. S., Gambrell, L. B., & Morrison, D. A. (2009). Roles of engagement, valuing, and identification in reading development of students from diverse backgrounds. In L. Morrow & R. S. Rueda, (Eds.), Handbook of reading and literacy among students from diverse backgrounds (pp. 195-215). New York: Guilford.

McRae, A., & Guthrie, J. T. (2009). Promoting reasons for reading: Teacher practices that impact motivation. In E. H. Hiebert (Ed.), Reading more, reading better (pp. 55-76). New York: Guilford.

Taboada, A., Guthrie, J. T., & McRae, A. (2008). Building engaging classrooms. In R. Fink & S. J. Samuels (Eds.), Inspiring reading success: Interest and motivation in an age of high-stakes testing (pp. 141-166). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

Guthrie, J. T., Taboada, A., & Coddington, C. S. (2007). Engagement practices for strategy learning in Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction. In D. S. McNamara (Ed.), Reading comprehension strategies: Theory, interventions, and technologies (pp. 241-266). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.

Guthrie, J. T. & Wigfield, A. (2005). Roles of motivation and engagement in reading comprehension assessment. In S. Paris, & S. Stahl (Eds.), Children's Reading Comprehension and Assessment (pp. 187-213). Mahwah: NJ: Erlbaum.

Guthrie, J. T. & Humenick, N. M. (2004) Motivating students to read: Evidence for classroom practices that increase reading motivation and achievement. In. P. McCardle & V. Chhabra (Eds.), The voice of evidence in reading research (pp. 329-354). Baltimore: Brookes.

Guthrie, J. T. (2003). Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction: Practices of Teaching Reading for Understanding. In C. Snow & A. Sweet (Eds.), Reading for Understanding: Implications of RAND Report for Education (pp. 115-140). New York: Guilford.

4. Further Readings Guthrie, J. T., & Klauda, S. L. (2012). Making textbook reading meaningful. Educational Leadership, 69, 64-68.

CORI Teacher Training Modules for Grades 3-5 and Grades 7-8 are available for purchase on [http://www.corilearning.com. www.corilearning.com.] Click on the navigation bar on the left side of our homepage for each module and you will be linked to make your purchase.