Concept-Oriented Reading Instruction: Engaging Classrooms, Lifelong Learners(Solving Problems in the Teaching of Literacy)

This volume presents concept-oriented reading instruction (CORI), a research-supported framework for integrating curriculum with instruction and fostering long-term engagement in reading. CORI is a practical model that helps K-6 teachers plan integrated units of instruction based on their own interests and strengths as well as their state's curricular requirements. Demonstrated are ways to: connect reading and writing to science, social studies or maths; create an active, collaborative classroom environment; use real-world observations to promote strategic thinking and learning; get students involved in setting and pursuing their own knowledge goals; and develop creative assignments, build student portfolios, and evaluate progress. The book is replete with concrete examples showing the CORI approach in action, including lively descriptions and photographs of a semester-long grade 2-3 weather unit. Also included are useful reproducible planning tools and assessment materials.

Table of Contents:
CHAPTER 1: Why Is the North Pole Always Cold? CHAPTER 2: What's Your Goal? CHAPTER 3: What Interests You? CHAPTER 4: That's Cool! Let's Read about It CHAPTER 5: I Want to Learn about Hurricanes! CHAPTER 6: What's the Main Idea? CHAPTER 7: Two Heads Are Better than One CHAPTER 8: Beyond Gold Stars and Candy Bars CHAPTER 9: Why Teach This Way? APPENDICES A. Instructional Planning Charts B. Performance Assessment and Scoring Rubric C. Margaret's Weather Book List D. Self-Monitoring Checklist for Reports E. Reading Motivation Questionnaire REFERENCES

About the Author :
Emily Anderson Swan, PhD, a former elementary school teacher, is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at the University of Utah.

Review :
'Richly illustrated with the use of classroom vignettes and a talented teacher's narrative, this book is grounded in theories of engagement and learning. Swan presents a vision of classrooms designed to promote motivated, autonomous, engaged and skilled readers. She describers how to enact this vision through attending to student's interests, providing resources for supporting meaningful learning, recognizing the powerful roles of both teachers and students and understanding how the classroom culture shapes learning opportunities. Preservice and inservice educators will appreciate this volume's artful blend of practical wisdom, theory and empirical research.' - Annemarie Sullivan Palinesar, University of Michigan "This book offers teacher educators and classroom teachers alike a superbly organized and highly useful road map to the world of reading motivation and engagement. Eight principles of engaged reading that form the theoretical framework for concept-oriented reading instruction are clearly presented and richly reinforced with relevant research evidence. Chapters are structured so that the reader is seamlessly transported from the theoretical and abstract environment of research into the real world of the classroom for a close-up view of each principle at work." - D. Ray Reutzel, PhD, Utah State University; Editor, The Reading Teacher "This is the book I've been looking for to engage my own preservice teachers as they inquire into the relationship between literacy and content area instruction. The author has effectively integrated theory and research in a specific instructional program, but the book reads like a conversation with an exemplary teacher." - Beth Roberts, PhD, Oglethorpe University