This handbook describes the Assessment and Intervention Model for the Bilingual Exceptional Student (AIM for the BESt), an instructional/intervention approach to the education of language minority students. The model aims to improve academic performance through use of shared literature and Graves writing workshops, reduce inappropriate referrals to special education, and reduce bias in assessment, through use of effective instructional practices, school-based problem-solving teams, and informal assessment. The model was implemented in a southwestern United States school district. This handbook provides many details about effective strategies and required resources for replicating the model, and offers clear examples of the instructional strategies used on a day-to-day basis to make classroom teaching effective. Appendices list the steps of the model, shared literature purposes and procedures, typical book titles used in shared literature units in grades K-5, guidelines for implementing Graves writing workshops, and procedures for using student/teacher assistance teams for school-based problem solving. An instructional unit titled "On My Own," which involves reading "Julie of the Wolves" and "My Side of the Mountain," is presented with daily learning activities. (66 references) (JDD)