Students' perceptions about "what good readers do" are representative of their definition of reading and what they believe they should be striving toward as a reader. These beliefs about reading influence their motivation and ways they engage with texts. In this study, interviews were conducted with students in three first-grade classrooms regarding their beliefs about good readers. Utilizing a qualitative approach with descriptive statistics, interview responses were analyzed with specific consideration for the variables of first language, socioeconomic status and curricular approach. After analyzing nine reoccurring themes according to the variables, curricular approaches in these settings had the largest influence on student perceptions.