Research shows that English learners are too often denied access to complex tasks that address grade-level standards. Teachers have expressed that they believe lack of English proficiency makes complex work impossible or that they fear frustrating students into withdrawal. This article presents how teachers can incorporate students' native…

Presents the instructional episodes engaged in by bilingual first graders. Findings indicate that peer instruction occurred frequently and that proficiency in English was not a determining factor in the language choices made by individual students. (Author/CB)