The writing achievement of English learners (ELs) is often lower than that of other subgroups (Fry, 2007, 2008). To address this gap, a partnership was formed between university faculty and doctoral students and educators at an urban PK-8 school with a majority EL population. Using Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) as a guide, the team endeavored to enhance writing instruction and, as a result, student writing. This study focused on a sixth-grade language arts teacher and her EL students during a personal recount writing unit. Qualitative data were analyzed to explore how SFL informed writing instruction and student apprenticeship influenced teaching and learning.