Learning how to communicate and instruct non-English proficient students in a regular classroom is a challenging task, especially for novice teachers. New teachers need to overcome fear, insufficient pedagogical knowledge, and lack of teaching experience; therefore, getting started can be the most overwhelming part of the process. This article attempts to provide regular education teachers with the initial steps for accommodating English Language Learners (ELL) in their classrooms. Perspectives from both elementary and secondary classroom settings are compared, and practical advice about how to assess students' prior knowledge, select teaching strategies, and assess students' ongoing progress is included and discussed.