Metacognition refers to an individual's knowledge concerning his/her own cognitive processes. Children's metacognitive strategies were examined in a study predicated upon R.J. Spiro's hypothesis that subjects tend to reproduce (literally recall) text information in formal situations and to reconstruct (inferentially recall) it in informal situations. Twenty third graders and 20 sixth graders individually performed listening, oral reading, and silent reading tasks in both formal and informal instruction conditions. The results tended to support Spiro's hypothesis. In general, sixth graders employed metacognitive strategies that yielded reproductive comprehension in the formal condition and reconstructive comprehension in the informal condition; however, the difference in reproduction and reconstruction between instruction conditions was absent for third graders. (FL)