English learners are the fastest growing student population in the United States. Many of these students are placed in classrooms with teachers who lack the preparation to help diverse children excel. This book helps bridge the gap between students' needs and K-12 teachers' preparation, offering an overview of English learners and practitioner-focused strategies for: Curriculum and planning; Reading instruction; and Curriculum and planning Reading instruction Oral language and writing development. The reader will discover ways to help English learners develop the language and literacy skills necessary for success in today's standards-based classrooms. This book is organized into four sections. Section I: Supporting English Learners, contains the following chapter: (1) Changing Classrooms: Transforming Instruction (Nancy L. Hadaway, Terrell A. Young). Section II: Curriculum and Planning, contains the following chapters: (2) Differentiating Instruction for English Learners: The Four-by-Four Model (Jill Kerper Mora); (3) Supporting English Learners: Developing Academic Language in the Content Area Classroom (Janice Pilgreen); and (4) Teaching Language Through Content Themes: Viewing Our World as Global Village (David E. Freeman, Yvonne S. Freeman). Section III: Reading Instruction, contains the following chapters: (5) Essential Comprehension Strategies for English Learners (Janice Pilgreen); (6) Promoting the Vocabulary Growth of English Learners (Diane August, Maria Carlo, Teresa J. Lively, Barry McLaughlin, Catherine Snow); (7) Using Guided Reading with English Learners (Mary Cappellini); and (8) Teaching English Learners about Expository Text Structures (Barbara Moss). Section IV: Oral and Written Language, contains the final chapters: (9) Negotiating Meaning through Writing (Nancy L. Hadaway, Terrell A. Young); (10) Language Play, Language Work: Using Poetry to Develop Oral Language (Nancy L. Hadaway, Sylvia M. Vardell, Terrell A. Young); (11) Using Puppets With English Learners to Develop Language (Vida Zuljevic); and (12) Let's Read, Write, and Talk About It: Literature Circles for English Learners (Deanna Peterschick Gilmore, Deanna Day). The book contains an Author Index, Children's Literature Author Index, and a Subject Index.