A study investigated the ability of fifth grade above and below average readers to use mental imagery in reading familiar and unfamiliar text. The subjects, 80 fifth grade students reading either above or below grade level, were placed into either an experimental or a control group. All subjects individually read one familiar and one unfamiliar passage, completing a free recall and a cued recall test after each. Subjects in the experimental group were told to form pictures in their heads as a way of remembering what they had read, while those in the control group were told simply to remember what they had read. Results indicated significant differences between the experimental and control groups, but only on the cued recall test. There were also significant differences between the above average and below average readers and between students' scores on the different texts in favor of familiar text. Students' responses in the control group to a brief questionnaire revealed that 90% of the above average readers and 65% of the below average readers spontaneously used mental imagery while reading. All students in the experimental group reported effectively inducing mental imagery during reading. (FL)