The purpose of this study is to develop understanding of the relation be-tween instructional practices and students’ reading amount. As part of alarger mixed-methods study of reading practices across the curriculum inSwedish compulsory school, a selection of 14 classes from Grades 6 and 9were observed over a total of 59 lessons. The data generated were codedand analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. The resultsreveal a great variation in teachers’ instructional practices which is shownto have both direct and more indirect consequences for students’ readingamount. By combining the results from quantitative and qualitative analy-ses in the light of Self-Determination Theory, the study shows that mostreading is done in classrooms where teachers manage to fulfill students’need for competence, relatedness, and autonomy while maintaining class-room structure and ensuring lesson time for reading. The findings are dis-cussed considering previous research on instructional practices in relationto students’ reading motivation and reading amount, adding to our under-standing of what makes students read in everyday classrooms. Limitationsof the study, directions for further research, and implications for practiceare also discussed.