Articles showing that knowledge supports reading comprehension and retention.
A non-technical explanation (clickable):
Willingham, D. T. (2006). How knowledge helps. American Educator, Spring, 30-37.
Adams, B. C., Bell, L. C., & Perfetti, C. A. (1995). A trading relationship between reading skill and domain knowledge in children’s text comprehension. Discourse Processes, 20, 302-323.
Britton,
B. K. Stimson, M., Stennett, B. & Gulgoz, S. (1998). Learning from
instructional text: Test of an individual differences model. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 476-491.
Chiesi, H., Spilich, G., & Voss, J. (1979). Acquisition of domain-related information in relation to high and low domain knowledge. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 18, 257-273.
Means, M. I., & Voss, J. (1985). Star Wars: A developmental study of expert and novice knowledge structures. Journal of Memory & Language, 24, 746-757.
Moravcsik, J., & Kintsch, W. (1993). Writing quality, reading skills, and domain knowledge as factors in text comprehension. Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, 47, 360-374.
Rawson, K. A., & Kintsch, W. (2002). How does background information improve memory for text content? Memory & Cognition, 30, 768-778.
Recht, D. R. & Leslie, L. (1988). Effect of prior knowledge on good and poor readers' memory of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 16-20.
Spilich, G., Vesonder, G., Chiesi, H., & Voss, J. (1979). Text processing of domain-related information for individuals with high and low domain knowledge. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 18, 275-290.
Taylor, B. M. (1979). Good and poor readers’ recall of familiar and unfamiliar text. Journal of Reading Behavior, 11, 375-380.
Voss, J., Vesonder, G., & Spilich, G. (1980). Text generation and recall by high-knowledge and low-knowledge individuals. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior, 19, 651-667.
Correlation between general cultural knowledge and reading ability
Cunningham, A. E. & Stanovich, K. E. (1997). Early reading acquisition and its relation to reading experience and ability 10 years later. Developmental Psychology, 33, 934-945.
Kosmoski, G. J., Gay, G., & Vockell, E. L. (1990). Cultural literacy and academic achivement. Journal of Experimental Education, 58, 265- 272.
Pentony, J. F. (1996). Validity and reliability of the cultural literacy test. Psychological Reports, 78, 1027-1033.
Stanovich, K. E. & Cunningham, A. E. (1993). Where does knowledge come from? Specific associations between print exposure and information acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 211-229.
Reading strategies help, but it's a one-time boost, and practicing them doesn't help.
The non-technical explanation (clickable):
National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, D.C.: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Rosenshine, B. and Meister, C. (1994). Reciprocal teaching: A review of the research. Review of Educational Research, 64, 479-530.
Rosenshine, B., Meister, C., and Chapman, S. (1996). Teaching students to generate questions: A review of the intervention studies. Review of Educational Research, 66, 181-221.