When evaluating the effectiveness of their program, members of the Brooklyn College SEEK Department, a higher education opportunity program, decided to make their pedagogy more student-centered. They created a method of reading instruction, which they named critical inquiry. Its goals are to build community through teaching students to annotate, question, and reflect on text. The use of student-generated questions as the basis for classroom activity not only makes for livelier classroom discussions, it welcomes students to academic discourse, validates their experiences, and fosters confidence in their learning. The elements of critical inquiry are transportable and can be used in varied disciplines and skill levels.