A study investigated the nature of reading difficulties from the perspective of sixth graders in a low-income school district on the border of New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. R. C. Bogdan and S. K. Biklin (1992) describe this style of research as an attempt to gain entry into the conceptual world of subjects to understand what meaning they construct around events in their lives. Participants were five Chapter 1 students. Three 50-minute interviews using a modified version of I. E. Seidman's (1991) model were conducted with each participant. The first interview centered on how the student became a low achieving reader; the second centered on current experiences; and the third centered on what the experiences meant to the student. In addition, students were observed for at least three class periods. Observations were done during regular reading class, compensatory reading class, and a content area class like social studies. Transcripts from the interviews with two of the students in particular point to a relationship between violence in the home and poor performance in school. The students themselves make this connection; it is also supported by the research of C. C. Bell and E. J. Jenkins (1991). There is sufficient evidence in this study, together with that of other studies, to suggest that further research must be done to flesh out what educators know about the relationship between exposure to violence in early grades and difficulties with literacy acquisition and achievement. (Contains 33 references.) (TB)