WEBVTT

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[Music]

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Narrator: If a change in
the weather is coming,

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these students at Roslyn Heights
Elementary School will be among

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the first to know it.

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Student: There's no wind.

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Student: There's no wind, and
the wind is sort of blowing,

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and it's...the temperature-
Student: That's the temperature.

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Student: The temperature
is about 30.

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Narrator: These kids are
becoming avid readers

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and not just of thermometers
and barometers.

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Student: Hey, you guys, it's
time to go back to class.

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[Students squeal and run.]

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Margaret Barnes: So I have
got this really great book,

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and it's called "Storm Chasers."

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Narrator: Teacher Margaret
Barnes uses a framework called

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CORI to teach reading
comprehension skills

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to second and third graders.

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CORI, developed by
Dr. John Guthrie,

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stands for Concept-Oriented
Reading Instruction.

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Organized mostly around
non-fiction books,

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each 18-week reading
unit guides kids to come

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up with their own
questions, dig up facts,

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integrate the findings,

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and share the highlights
with the class.

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Student: And when they
go over the water,

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they turn into waterspouts.

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Narrator: Students
pursue their own interests

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with hands-on experiences,

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which research shows boosts
motivation more than, say,

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simply looking at pictures.

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Kids are also encouraged
to ask their own questions.

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Mairead: The questions
I am trying

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to answer are cloud questions.

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My first one is: How
many clouds are there,

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and how do clouds float?

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[Music]

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Narrator: Key to CORI
is a large collection

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of irresistible books,
from haikus to history.

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Mairead: I like to have a lot
of books to choose from so

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that I can get information,
but it's hard to choose from,

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because there are so many.

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And I like tornado books, but
I have to look at cloud books

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so that I can get information.

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Emily Swan: We know
that choice is one

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of those intrinsic motivators.

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Social interaction is
an intrinsic motivation.

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But when children have
choice to find their books

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and then be able to
talk with their friends

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about what they found, and
maybe someone will share, "Hey,

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I found this about tornadoes.

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Why don't you read this book?"

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and they can recommend a book,

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then that just lends
itself to more engagement.

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Narrator: CORI offers
explicit strategies

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for plucking information
from a book.

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By thinking aloud Ms.
Barnes shows kids how

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to spot the factual diamonds
among the less brilliant stones.

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Barnes: "Wee-o, wee-o,
sirens blare.

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People hurry to a radio or
TV and quickly flick it on."

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Hmm. I wonder why
they're doing that.

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I am starting to
think about this.

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As you read, do you think
about things and kind of start

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to make questions in your mind?

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Narrator: Ms. Barnes has
also shown her students how

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to find information
by using an index,

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glossary, or table of contents.

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Student: Let's check
in the index.

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[Music]

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Narrator: After the students'
own questions have been posed

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and researched, and after
the facts have been sifted

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and connected, kids can then
communicate their findings

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to the class.

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Mairead: My report's
on wacky weather.

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Did you know it can
snow pink snow?

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Well, it can.

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Because when wind picks up
dark pink gusts, it carries it

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to snow clouds, and
then it snows pink snow.

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Swan: Being able to communicate
to others is an aspect

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of CORI that's important
because it validates

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that children are learning
for the sake of learning.

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And when they ask their own
questions and find answers,

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and are able to express that
and communicate that to others,

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it validates that they're a
learner, that they're a thinker

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and a reader and a writer.

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Mairead: Nate?

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Nate: Did anything
break in the farm?

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Mairead: Well, I think that the
farm got knocked down and stuff,

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but not those three things.

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Narrator: Research
shows that CORI works.

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Kids in CORI classrooms are not
only more motivated and curious

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than those who get
traditional instruction;

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they also score higher
on reading achievement

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and conceptual knowledge.

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For kids who don't enjoy
fiction-many boys don't-CORI

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offers a new route
to reading engagement

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through non-fiction topics.

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CORI's impact can last far
beyond elementary school.

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Swan: I've watched
children's lives change

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because they may
never have thought

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of themselves as a good reader.

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It changes the way
they see schools.

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It changes the way
they see themselves

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as readers and writers.

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They remember it always.

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They remember the
experiences they have

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in CORI classrooms forever.

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Narrator: The Reading Rockets
Series is a production of WETA.

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Major funding for
Reading Rockets comes

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from the United States
Department of Education,

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Office of Special
Education Programs.

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For author interviews,
recommended reading lists,

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and information about
teaching kids to read,

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please visit us online at
www.readingrockets.org.