Using Higher-Order Thinking to Improve Reading Comprehension. Teaches a depth of analysis that guarantees superior reading comprehension, top grades, and highest test scores! Reading Detective's standards-based critical thinking activities develop the analysis, synthesis, and vocabulary skills students need for exceptional reading comprehension. The activities are especially effective at helping students understand more challenging reading concepts such as drawing inferences, determining cause and effect, and using context clues to define vocabulary. Methods: Students read and analyze short literature excerpts and stories that include fiction and nonfiction content. Then they answer multiple-choice and short-response questions, citing sentence-level evidence to support their answers. Beginning level is organized into single-skill units with a concluding mixed-skills unit and provides an introductory lesson for each skill. Teaching Support: Includes pretests, post-tests, lesson guidelines, and answers with detailed evidence. Reading and literary analysis skills are based on grade-level standards. 216 activities. License: reproducible.