A study was carried on for 2 years in a predominantly Italian-American suburb near Boston. During the period of data-collection, the researchers observed both classroom interaction in a kindergarten/first grade and the interactions of two members of that class at home with their families. The analysis is an attempt to discover what factors in classroom organization are confusing to children from a particular group with distinctive cultural communicative traditions. It was observed that at the family dinner table there were "multiple conversational floors," that is, people spoke simultaneously and to multiple audiences. There were also many ways of listening. In the school classroom, holding the floor, defending it from interruptions, and allocating it to students were the concern of the teacher. A typology of participation structures was developed to analyze interactional activities at the family dinner table and during math lessons at school. At school, the children often chimed in at times the teacher considered inappropriate. Analysis of the data suggests that adaptations by teachers in the direction of participation structures congruent with family-life patterns would facilitate learning. (AMH)