A study explored how small groups of student readers interacted in a classroom over time to interpret short stories assigned by a teacher who functioned as participant/observer. The study focused on multiple readers in actual classroom situations to consider the relationship between the social and academic elements observable during day-to-day classroom life. The purpose of the investigation was to describe the nature of reader response as it took place in two small, ongoing task groups in school when the teacher did not intervene in group discussion. Study design emerged from the question, "What happens when groups of sixth graders meet over time to read and discuss a short story for the purpose of reconstructing and performing it as a play?" For 6 weeks, eight student volunteers met in two separate discussion groups to read, discuss, rewrite, and perform a short story as a play. Data were collected using an ethnographic system. During the first 2 days, the researcher participated in the role of teacher. During the remaining 4 she acted as an observer, viewing the group through a video camera. Results made visible the relationship between the academic and social nature of classroom task accomplishment. In group 1, one or two people dominated; talk was used to constrain group academic accomplishment. In group 2, talk was used to construct roles and relationships that supported group accomplishment. (Appendixes contain author's story, episodic text analysis, and tables of data.) (TB)