This article revisits the rich theoretical and empirical literatures that undergird strategy instruction, with the goal of identifying a principled approach to the teaching of strategies to enhance reading and learning with text. Its purpose is to examine the question of why strategy instruction, as enacted in practice, might raise concerns among reading researchers. The authors also describe and illustrate three principles designed to support teachers who wish to use strategy instruction in powerful ways that are consistent with its initial theoretical underpinnings. Their goal, as the title suggests, is to reconnect strategy instruction with its theoretical roots. They begin by considering one well-received cognitive theory of comprehension, developed by Kintsch. The authors argue that if educators were more cognizant of how comprehension occurs, they would be better positioned to make principled decisions regarding comprehension instruction.