In this paper we articulate an approach, termed culturally-mathematically relevant pedagogy (CMRP), for fostering urban English language learners' mathematical progression. CMRP integrates three aspects, the use of (1) adaptive teaching to build on students' funds of knowledge for mathematics, (2) tasks that make sense to students given their current mathematical conceptions, and (3) manipulatives and representations that, for the students, meaningfully signify quantities linked to numbers and operations used in a task. To situate CMRP, we use a continuum of conceptual transitions in multiplicative reasoning, which are critical for supporting students' development of algebraic reasoning. [For the complete proceedings, see ED584829.]