The middle school reading/literature instructor needs to determine where each student is in reading achievement and then assist each to achieve as optimally as possible. What might the teacher do to assist students to become good middle school readers? A major problem of middle schoolers is to be able to recognize a certain percent of words correctly for adequate comprehension to take place. Some of the ways to assist students in word recognition are: (1) use of context clues; (2) phonics; (3) picture clues; and (4) syllabication skills. Teachers should identify possible unknown words for students to master prior to their reading a selection. After students have read the selection silently, they need to discuss the contents with teacher guidance to rehearse content read as well as answer previously identified questions. Students should: understand what has been read; use what has been acquired within a new situation; analyze content read; integrate subject matter achieved; and assess the worth of subject matter read. Narrative literature may be divided into component parts such as students attaching meaning to: the setting of the story; characterization; the plot; the theme; point of view; and irony. Student achievement can be assessed in the reading of each library book in one of several ways, and the quality of the evaluation may be assessed on a 5-point scale with the use of a rubric. Students may prefer to work in individualized reading or within a group setting in cooperative endeavors in the literature curriculum. (NKA)