AbstractThis article includes discussion about a formative study in which inquiry was used as ESL instruction for second‐grade emerging bilinguals. Drawing on the literature and research surrounding English learners, comprehension, informational text and inquiry, the teachers and researcher integrated comprehension strategy instruction with inquiry and research skills as an instructional approach to support the development of informational reading, writing, listening and speaking in English. The five most frequently used and instructionally essential strategies identified for facilitating the research projects during the study are reported. Each strategy and anchor lesson is explained along with the teachers’ narrative account of how they continued facilitating inquiry throughout the week with teaching tips they developed throughout the unit of inquiry. The classroom teachers share challenges, successes and reasons for using inquiry with accompanying photos of student work.