Today, more than ever before, teachers are devoting much of their intellectual and emotional energy to helping students better understand the school texts that they are required to read. This can best be accomplished through six changes in the way reading comprehension is taught: (1) accept an active-constructive model of reading comprehension; (2) change the kinds of questions that are asked of the selections children read; (3) refocus vocabulary efforts on techniques emphasizing semantic elaboration and semantic fit rather than definition and usage; (4) change the way comprehension skills are taught; (5) develop curricular materials that recognize the fact that comprehension and composition are similar in process; and (6) change the conception of the role of the reading instructor from teacher as manager to teacher as teacher. (HOD)