This developmental study offers a definitive strategy for successfully teaching such representative classics as Hamlet, A Tale of Two Cities, Silas Marner, and My Last Duchess to students who are reading as much as three years below grade level but who are nevertheless normally intelligent. The study provides evidence tending to support the following conclusions, subject to the limitations of the study: (1) that many teachers show a general reluctance to teach grade-level literature to culturally different low achievers; (2) that grade-level literature--the classics or their equivalent--can be taught to low achievers without inferior substitution, if the teaching strategies are effective; (3) that many homogeneously grouped low achievers can learn college preparatory subject matter and pass standardized examinations; (4) that classical works of literature can be adapted to the understanding of low achievers who read no more than three years below grade level; (5) that the Hamlet adaptation and learning plan is an effective model in teaching grade-level literature to low achievers; (6) that, with effective teaching strategies, negative teacher attitudes and low expectations can change for the better. (Author/LL)