Since prior knowledge is positively linked with reading comprehension, methods of measuring prior knowledge are important. A word association test is a useful technique for evaluating topic familiarity and enables the teacher to make decisions about how much additional information is needed for students to process a text successfully. (SRT)

Examines the concept of the cognitively active learner and discusses the following categories of learning strategies: rehearsal, elaboration, organization, comprehension monitoring, and affective. (NKA)

Describes a highly effective reading program that focuses on learning strategies and the thinking process. (RB)

Examines the evidence that supports using the technique of repeated readings to increase the reading fluency of students with reading difficulties. (HOD)

Describes a brainstorming/conceptualization activity suitable for adult, secondary, and college levels which serves as a preliminary exercise to test students' prior knowledge and to activate a schema for deeper immersion into a text. Describes how students use the activities to construct a sentence which defines the purpose of their textbook. (RS)

Discusses teaching vocabulary when students do not know the words nor the concepts they represent. (SRT)

Describes 10 categories of inferences and proposes a three-step procedure for teaching students to make inferences while reading. (HOD)

Describes five strategies that foster independent learning of content area vocabulary. (MKM)

Reviews research findings on transfer of learning and indicates that current research (especially metacognition) holds considerable promise for a more complete understanding of the mechanisms of transfer. (NKA)

Explains semantic feature analysis, a technique that helps students learn a new vocabulary by seeing how words are alike and how they are different. (HOD)

Describes vocabulary lesson sequences that were used to teach sixth, seventh, and eighth grade remedial readers economics vocabulary from the newspaper. (HOD)

Discusses (1) strategies that make learning disabled adolescents independent in subject area classrooms, (2) the use of medieval rhetoric to help modern students expand their writing, and (3) students' opinions of sustained silent reading. (NKA)

Argues that new vocabulary words should be presented in concept clusters and related to prior knowledge to facilitate organization in memory. Presents a sample lesson for science vocabulary. (HOD)