This study investigated the effects of interactive read alouds on reading comprehension skills in a second-grade classroom. The study compared an experimental group of 5 students who received systematic modeling of higher-order thinking and asking thoughtful questions requiring analytic talk to promote recall and a control group of 18 students in the same classroom who did not receive this instruction. The teaching context was for the experimental group to actively listen and respond to an oral reading of a text involving systematic modeling of higher-order thinking questions and analytic talk to promote recall of a story. The activities included comprehension skills involving prediction, making connections, summarizing, and drawing conclusions. The control group only received regular class instruction. The pre- and post intervention reading comprehension of both groups was assessed using Developmental Reading Assessment 2 Comprehension Focus. The experimental group scored higher than the control group regardless of first language or gender. The overall results suggest that the use of interactive read alouds was effective in increasing the students' reading comprehension.