As teachers, we have both the power and the responsibility to create classrooms full of eager, curious, and active readers and learners. Teaching students to become strategic readers and thinkers and to actively use the knowledge they glean from reading are the focus of the comprehension practices discussed in this article. A longstanding research tradition suggests that comprehension strategies are best taught as tools for reading and learning, so that students acquire and use a repertoire of thinking strategies that further engagement and understanding. To become literate in the broadest sense of the term, students must learn to read, write and think across disciplines, evaluating information, asking questions and engaging in dialogue. The authors suggest principles and practices that keep comprehension at the core of 21st century teaching and learning.