Schema theory explains how readers use their prior knowledge to comprehend passages. Viewing video clips in pre-reading appears to be a useful way to help students prepare for learning by providing audio-visual images of different topics. The present study investigated the effects of watching videos during a pre-reading stage on the reading comprehension of EFL students. This experimental study was carried out on two intact groups with 32 male students in each group over three months. The experimental group watched videos during the pre-reading stage followed by reading comprehension passages while the control group was taught conventionally. Two achievement tests were used as pre-test and post-test to investigate the effects of the treatment on the experimental group. An independent-samples T-test and paired samples T-test were applied to compare the results of the two groups and a questionnaire was used to check the students' attitudes toward the effectiveness of watching videos before reading. The results showed that the experimental group outperformed the control group (p=<0.05) and also indicated that the participants had a positive attitude towards watching videos during the pre-reading stage. The results of the study suggest that watching videos as a pre-reading technique can be utilized by teachers in activating learners' background knowledge and by curriculum developers in planning and designing appropriate textbooks with related videos and films to improve learners' reading comprehension skills.