This classroom-based qualitative study sought to investigate students' writing in response to culturally relevant literature. Eleven students enrolled in two grade twelve, special education classrooms in a large, urban high school participated in the study. The students included Dive female, six male, three Hispanic and eight African American; all were identified as having learning disabilities. The primary sources for data analysis included student journals, essay writing, transcripts of class lessons, tests and essay scores, and student participant surveys. Student writing was transcribed and subjected to narrative discourse analysis through three cycles of coding guided by the application of Blooms Taxonomy to thinking roles and reading comprehension skills. The data reveal that when high school, special needs students are exposed to culturally relevant literature, they become engaged, are motivated to learn, and their writing reflects that greater engagement and motivation. The students demonstrate greater reading comprehension and more advanced thinking in their written responses to that literature. Moreover, the narrative analysis of student writing in response to culturally relevant literature is shown to be an effective tool for the teacher's ongoing assessment of student thinking. The study concludes that culturally responsive classroom practices promote high achievement among students with special needs and are conducive to their literacy learning. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com.bibliotheek.ehb.be/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]