Higher-order thinking skills (HOTS) have been mentioned in education including teaching and learning English as a foreign language in Vietnam. However, how to integrate HOTS into teaching, particularly reading skill, has been one of the greatest concerns of EFL high school teachers in the current context. Therefore, the study was carried out to explore teachers’ strategies in incorporating HOTS in reading classes. Questionnaires, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect data from eighty high school teachers. The findings of the research indicate that the strategies in applying HOTS in reading were playing games, making predictions, modeling, structuring the classroom, asking questions and giving feedback. Pedagogical implications for teachers and school administrations are presented.

Keywords: reading, higher-order thinking skills (HOTS), strategies