Abstract
Goldenberg (2011) notes there is a large achievement gap between English language learner (ELL) students and non-English language learners (non-ELLs) regarding reading and writing performance in the K-12 school system. This project addresses how to develop reading in ELL students by focusing on foundational skills. The handbook is an easy to use guide that provides the best practices found in research to help develop the foundational skills necessary to develop reading in ELLs. The six sections are the following: oral skills, concepts of print, phonemic and phonological awareness, phonics and decoding, fluency and comprehension, and vocabulary. Each section will provide definitions of the topic, research on the best practices, activities related to the topic, and resources. Finally, this handbook closely aligns with the necessary components found in the English Language Arts/ English Language Development Framework for California Public Schools: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (California Department of Education, 2015) and the California English Language Development Standards: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve (California Department of Education, 2014). It specifically focuses on kindergarten through third grade part III of the California English Language Development Standards: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve.