Comprehension strategy instruction has been widely studied in the past 10 years. We now know that students who actively engage and interact with text using particular cognitive strategies are more likely to understand and remember more of what they have read. Students who use these strategies are able to access knowledge that is outside the realm…

Reports on programs and activities designed to teach thinking skills either as a separate school subject or as a strand in a content area. (FL)

Notes that students' comprehension and interest increase when they talk about how to read, draw inferences, and answer inferential questions. (FL)

Describes semantic mapping, an effective strategy for vocabulary instruction that involves the categorical structuring of information in graphic form and requires students to relate new words to their own experience and prior knowledge. (HOD)

Describes an Environmental Reading Program, in which students come to realize that they are readers of their surroundings. Shows how the program can stimulate thought processes and promote comprehension. (FL)

Describes two studies showing that young readers may have trouble with comprehension when text contradicts their own prior knowledge. (FL)