Explicitly teaching comprehension skills such as vocabulary, inferences, and character and quote analysis can be closely tied to literature.
Some exercises posted previously are included herein - if they look familiar, it's because they are.
To understand things around us, it helps to think about how they are alike, and how they are different. When describing these differences, look for things that are meaningful. It's also better to compare the same kinds of information. If you state that baseball is often shown on television, and that basketball is played indoors, I don't know whether baseball is played indoors or if basketball is on television, so I don't know if these are differences or similarities. A Remembrall is a useful gadget.