Motivation has long been viewed as a key element of learning. A study of over 300 high school juniors and seniors demonstrated that motivation was at least as predictive of achievement in a subject as was intelligence. Among younger students, motivation is a linchpin to learning, even at a time developmentally when overall motivation for schoolwork is in decline, bottoming out at the seventh-grade level. While there are many factors that might explain this decline, as a result teachers too often find themselves assigning less-rigorous tasks designed to placate disenchanted students. However, differences between children and adolescents are pronounced, especially in the ways they interact with one another. In particular, adolescents increasingly turn to their peer groups for validation and support. The interplay between motivation and development provides middle school and high school English teachers with the unique ability to capitalize on this. In this article, the authors closely examine methods and rationale for creating effective group assignments that motivate and challenge students. (Contains 1 figure.)