Teachers of core middle level classes are now expected to play a larger role in supporting students' reading of course materials than has traditionally been the case. University courses and high-quality professional development emphasizing content literacy can equip teachers with important insights about reading and can provide them with a repertoire of instructional techniques that facilitate students' content acquisition. However, teachers can begin to take some simple steps on their own that will go a long way toward boosting their students' comprehension skills. Two of the most basic of these involve modeling and asking skillfully designed questions. Modeling involves recognizing basic reading strategies and their importance in comprehending course materials, and then purposefully modeling them in the context of authentic reading. Strategic questioning fosters reading comprehension by requiring students to infer, visualize, clarify, and summarize. These strategies do not require much time, and these small but powerful instructional adaptations will enhance not only students' reading skills but also their content knowledge and ability to think critically--a win-win situation for everyone concerned.