This study examined how instruction that encourages critical thinking about what has been read can lead to incorporated knowledge that can be retrieved and applied to other related settings. Case-based learning (an instructional method long used with graduate business, law, and medical students) is one method that can be used to foster critical thinking and schema construction. For this study, a case was defined as a narrative that presented a theme portrayed in a novel but presented it in a problem-solving format that related text ideas to real-world situations. The effects of case based instruction were compared to those of traditional instruction on students' ability to assemble and incorporate different knowledge sources in memory. Ninety-two ninth graders in a rural community participated in the 6-week study. The students read the novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" and were evaluated by their written responses to essays and timed writings. Findings indicated that activating and expanding knowledge through the use of thematically organized and cross-disciplinary cases facilitated students' ability to generate explanations for new information that were plausible and meaningful. (One table of data is included, and 40 references are attached.) (SR)