What is the process of deriving meaning from text through prior knowledge called?

The process of deriving meaning from text through prior knowledge is best described by the term reading comprehension. This concept involves the reader's ability to understand and interpret information presented in a text, utilizing their existing knowledge and experiences to connect with new ideas. Effective reading comprehension encompasses various skills, such as decoding words, understanding vocabulary, and making inferences based on prior knowledge, which ultimately enriches the reader's understanding of the material.

In this context, metacognition refers to the awareness and control of one's own thought processes, but it is not specifically about deriving meaning from text. Fast mapping describes how young children quickly learn new words by connecting them to known words or concepts, which is different from the broader process of comprehension. Analogy involves comparing similarities between different things, which can aid understanding but does not directly capture the act of making meaning from text. Hence, reading comprehension is the most accurate choice to represent the overall process of leveraging prior knowledge to derive meaning from reading.