In this much-needed book, the authors marshal research and several decades of their own experience to provide instructional practices and activities that will help teachers develop newcomers as readers and writers of English and engage them in content learning across the curriculum. Equally important, they show how teachers can advocate for these vulnerable students, many of whom have experienced multiple challenges in their home countries or in the United States, including poverty, violence and political persecution.

With chapters on assessment and second-language acquisition as well as reading, writing, speaking and content learning, their book is a timely and comprehensive guide for any K-8 educator whose classroom or school includes newcomer students.

Katharine Davies Samway, professor emerita at San José State University, has spent most of her adult life working with and on behalf of English learners, first as a teacher, then as a teacher educator/staff developer and researcher. All of her books focus on English learners, and topics include myths and realities surrounding English learners, linking writing research and practice, strategies for teaching ELs in grades K-8, and cross-age tutoring.