This paper outlines a methodology for understanding and describing the reading activities of a small group of black inner city junior high school students. The methodology is based on the assumption that reading can be viewed as a social activity or process that becomes defined through the interaction of participants. Data are collected through the use of ethnographic techniques such as participant observation, videotaping, and ethnographic interviews. Data are collected in three general settings: the school (including both in-classroom and outside-classroom activities), the community, and the home. There are four components to the analysis of the data: a lexical/semantic analysis, microanalysis, macroanalysis, and triangulation. The product of the analysis is the generation of hypotheses about reading activities and the social contexts in which they occur. (Author/GC)