A study was undertaken to explore how elementary school children employ help seeking as a means of problem solving in the classroom. High-, average-, and low-ability students at the first-, third-, and fifth-grade levels were targeted for in-depth observation. A "focal-child" observational procedure was used to gather data on naturally occurring help-seeking interactions in the classroom. When a targeted child initiated interaction with a teacher or another child--intending to solicit aid, information, or materials pertinent to the task at hand--observers coded critical features of the episode on the observation form (i.e., the target of the bid for assistance, the type of help requested, responses to the request, and the activity structure in which the interaction occurred). Overall, children's rates of help seeking were higher in math than in reading. Boys and girls differed by rates of help seeking and by type of help requested. Children of different ability levels were found to vary not only in rate of help seeking and type of help requested, but also in the type of responses elicited from their helper choices. (Implications of these findings for children's achievement, learning, and social adjustment in the classroom are discussed.) (MP)