Examines the influence of prior knowledge on the quality of fourth-grade students' responses to three process-approach tasks: writing, conferencing, and revising. Results suggest that prior knowledge is a significant factor in all phases of process-approach lessons. (NH)

Two experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses that the ability to draw inferences from a text about an unstated agent is based on the quality of information available to the reader, and that the quality of the information is itself based on the unique nature of cues embedded in the text and on the relevance of prior knowledge held by the…

Drawing upon research on the composing process and schema theory, a study explored the effects of a generative writing task presented prior to reading on the delayed recall of fourth grade students. The purpose of the study was to determine if a writing task that required the learner to identify with events in a text to be read later would assist…

Examines the role of experience in the use of orthographic structure by good and poor sixth-grade readers. Results showed that poor sixth-grade readers used orthographic structure to speed their matching judgments just as effectively as good sixth-grade readers. (HOD)