To provide a differentiated language arts program to meet the needs of highly able and gifted readers and to encourage interest in reading and the development of state reading goals, students in the sixth grade of a middle school in Maryland were grouped by ability for their language arts/reading classes. Students were exposed to a wide variety of reading materials from a variety of publishers, rather than confined to a particular basal reading series. They also learned techniques to help them to read materials critically, and shared their interpretations in small group discussions. In addition, students were asked to select and develop creative projects to elaborate the ideas they gathered from their shared interpretive reading. Projects included sociograms, time machine models, newscasts, games based on story themes, development of floor plans to illustrate particular character traits, sample children's books, and simulation role playing activities. In response to a questionnaire to evaluate the program, 88% of the students stated that they had increased their understanding and appreciation of literature, 75% declared an increase in the amount of time spent reading, 56% disclosed that they had discussed the stories with others outside of class, and 40% reported further reading of stories by the authors presented in the program. (HOD)