A study investigated the effects of strategy instruction on the reading and writing abilities of sixth-grade middle-school students with delayed literacy. An experimental group of 10 sixth-grade, English-speaking inner-city students in the midwestern United States was matched on race, gender, and reading comprehension test scores with 10 sixth-grade control students. All students were at least two years behind in their literacy skills. Students in the experimental group engaged in strategic reading and writing instruction for 2 hours daily for 14 weeks. Results of structured performance-based student interviews in reading and writing showed that the short-term instructional intervention in strategy instruction not only improved students literacy performance but also extended and enhanced their models of literacy. (Contains 10 references, and one table and two figures of data.) (RS)