The SQ3R method has been the backbone of textbook reading strategies for over 20 years. However, research indicates that students--even though they know how to use the technique--do not apply it because they believe it is too involved and too time consuming. Theoretically, SQ3R is a sound technique based on current knowledge about brain functions, but unless teachers can package it so that students will use it, SQ3R will become a pointless schoolroom exercise. A possible solution to this problem lies in combining SQ3R with findings in brain research on memory and with the time-spaced (distributed practice) learning theory. Coupling what researchers already know about the workings of the human brain with the SQ3R method allows students to become aware of the inner workings of the technique, and the textbook reading strategy becomes a meaningful activity rather than an externally imposed formula. (Author/HTH)