Approaches that were used to teach English to fifth grade children of Mexican-American migrant farm laborers are described. The students were categorized as limited in English language proficiency. The children's academic self-concept was so low that they perceived learning as involving impossible tasks, and they believed that they were the source of their own problems. One cause for their failure was that they had little opportunity to read and write. The curriculum was adapted to the students. Instead of the oral reading period, the teachers read stories to the students. Class time was also set aside for journal writing, and teachers read and responded in writing to students' work. Educational objectives included: conveying to students that writing and reading could be important in their lives; developing fluency and turning nonwriters and fearful writers into bold writers; and desensitizing students to errors. The journal writing provided a natural language exchange and a sense of audience, and also developed a positive self-image and sense of success for students. This technique also addressed individual needs of students at different proficiency levels. Topics of student writing projects included: love letters to students' mothers or fathers and biographies of others. By the end of the year, the students were reading and writing fluently and purposefully. All curricula areas were covered, and students increased their reading proficiency and written production. Five student writing samples are appended. (SW)