Higher-order comprehension skills are necessary to understand a text, yet many South African learners have not been taught these skills. The aim of this study is to explicitly teach higher-order reading comprehension strategies to a Grade 2 learner who could not read for meaning. This study is based upon Vygotsky's Social Constructivist theory. Data were collected through pre- and post-tests, an intervention programme, interviews and classroom observations. The findings suggest that the learner acquired higher order thinking skills after being taught reading comprehension strategies. The teacher guided, paced and modelled the learner's reading progress, creating a safe learning environment. The results suggest that teaching higher-order comprehension strategies and creating safe learning environments had an impact on developing the Grade 2 learner's higher-order thinking skills.