Results from assessing our pupils' reading comprehension level are poor, although reading is very important in the school environment. Given the importance of teaching comprehension and metacomprehension strategies in the classroom to improve reading efficiency, a direct instruction program based on Baumann's (1985, 1990) instruction model was drawn. The aim was to offset the limitations of this type of programs by including comprehension and metacomprehension strategies and by a durable and ecological use of the program (used by teaching staff after having been trained). Personal and contextual variables that have an influence on reading comprehension were considered. The participants were 457 third- and fourth-graders (8 to 10 years of age), in experimental and control groups, who were helped to master reading comprehension strategies in an autonomous and self-regulated way. Results show an improvement on the reading comprehension level in both of the Spanish and Euskera groups who applied the program for as long as an academic year. The improvement in control groups was not significant. Improvement in the teachers' competences as well as a possible improvement in the pupils' attitude and motivation (except in the didactic unit devoted to metacognitive strategies) was also observed.