In this article we highlight elements of culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy that prepare teachers to work with English Learners (ELs) from a variety of backgrounds. Specifically, we focus on the learning experiences and practices of one secondary social studies teacher to explore promising practices with ELs and effective teacher preparation strategies. This article highlights two specific strategies used by the teacher: the intentional integration of academic language instruction through sheltered instructional observation protocol (SIOP) and community-engaged service learning. The findings suggest that the teacher improved his EL instruction, specifically within the context of his social studies curricula, and his experiences and reflections offer insights for teacher educators who seek to better prepare in-service and preservice teachers to serve ELs and their families.