Disadvantaged secondary school students with special reading needs can be motivated in the reading room. The school year can start with "popcorn" reading involving materials that are funny, interesting, and exciting. The teacher reads to the students or the students read silently, using materials on the students' independent rather than instructional level. Writing activities are also included and involve the writing of stories, plays, slogans, logos, bumper stickers, messages for T-shirts, epitaphs, and menus. All the writing is displayed on the bulletin boards and autographed by the author. Students' reading difficulties are diagnosed when they read aloud or when they talk in sessions such as "Bring and Brag." Rather than book reports, students engage in story reports. Fun worksheets at the beginning of the school year let the students become aware of their own listening styles. Students engage in listening through the use of filmstrips and cassettes. Another listening activity involves a visit from the vice principal for a fireside chat. Prefixes and suffixes are learned by playing Bingo, and other vocabulary words are learned by working crossword puzzles or by doing investigative work in the dictionary. Such a reading classroom provides the students with (1) a balance between teacher control and student self-direction, (2) order and clearly defined structure, (3) excitement and imaginative materials, (4) a high teacher expectation, and (5) an atmosphere where humor, hugs, and love prevail. (HOD)