A literature-based reading program was introduced to 98 students in 5 second-grade classrooms in an urban school district with a socioeconomic status ranging from middle class to disadvantaged. Students were primarily African American or Hispanic. Of the total, 22% had previously been classified as "at risk" as determined by state regulations. The program had three major components: (1) systematically designed and administered classroom literacy centers; (2) a steady series of teacher-led activities involving literature; and (3) a regular schedule of independent reading and writing periods (IRWPs). Managed according to consistent and clearly explained expectations or rules, IRWPs emphasized individual student selection from a wide variety of activities and materials while offering students the opportunity to work alone or in small groups. Teachers were encouraged to serve as facilitators and participants in the IRWPs rather than as traditional teachers, although they continued to teach a separate basal reading program for their students. Research assistants collected data both by direct observation of IRWPs that they reported in field notes, and by videotaping sessions. Qualitative analysis of the data indicated positive motivation and acceptance of the program among students, including those considered "at risk," and a positive commitment to the program by all five teachers who participated. (A figure representing the contexts, processes, and outcomes fostered by cooperative literacy settings is included.) (Contains 80 references.) (Author/RS)