ela-ell

## English Language Arts (ELA) ELL Content Modification Template

| Section | Details |
| :--- | :--- |
| **Role** | I am a high school English teacher at Chicago Public Schools. |
| **Content Area** | 10th Grade English Language Arts |
| **Grade Level(s)** | 10th Grade |
| **Learning Target** | Students will be able to analyze the use of figurative language in a short story. |
| **Success Criteria** | Students can identify at least three examples of metaphors or similes and explain their effect on the reader. |
| **Input Text (Original Prompt)** | "Prompt: In what ways does Shakespeare's 'Romeo and Juliet' use tragic irony to foreshadow the play's conclusion?" |
| **Modification Task** | Generate modified versions of the input text to support English Language Learners (ELLs) at different proficiency levels. |
| **Modification Focus** | Simplify vocabulary and sentence structure, provide context clues, and scaffold the analytical process. Break down complex literary concepts into manageable steps. |

***

## Modified Content for ELL Proficiency Levels (REACH Scale)

### Level 1 (Entering)

The goal at this level is to focus on **concrete concepts** and **basic identification** using highly simplified language.

**Modified Prompt:**
In the story, the audience (us) knows something important that the characters (Romeo and Juliet) do not know. This is called **irony** or a big secret.

1.  What is the **big secret** that the audience knows? (Hint: It is about the ending.)
2.  How does this secret make the end of the story feel very **sad** or **terrible**? (Use simple words like *sad, bad, terrible, surprise*.)

**Support/Scaffolding:**
* **Vocabulary:** Provide a simple glossary with visuals for:
    * **Audience:** The people watching or reading.
    * **Character:** A person in the story.
    * **Secret:** Something only a few people know.
    * **Ending:** The final part of the story.
* **Text Access:** Use a very brief, high-frequency word **summary** of the play's key events, focusing only on the dramatic irony (e.g., Romeo thinks Juliet is dead, but the audience knows she only took a sleeping potion).

***

### Level 2 (Beginning)

The goal is to use **short, simple sentences** and provide **explicit support** for key literary terms.

**Modified Prompt:**
The play uses something called **tragic irony**. **Tragic** means very sad. **Irony** is when the audience knows a truth that the characters do not know. This 'secret' tells us what will happen later.

1.  **Identify:** Find one moment in the play where a character says something, but the audience knows the true, sad meaning. (Example: A character says, "I will see you tomorrow," but we know this is impossible.)
2.  **Explain:** How does this moment (the tragic irony) make the audience know the play will have a **sad or tragic conclusion** (ending)?
3.  **Support:** Give one short quote from the play that shows this **foreshadowing** (clue about the future).

**Support/Scaffolding:**
* **Word Bank & Visuals:** Provide a word bank with definitions and simple pictures/symbols for key terms:
    * **Tragic Irony:** The audience knows the sad truth that the character doesn't.
    * **Foreshadow:** To give a clue about the future.
    * **Conclusion:** The end.
* **Sentence Starters:** Offer sentence frames for the response:
    * "One example of tragic irony is when ________."
    * "This shows the sad conclusion because ________."

***

### Level 3 (Developing)

The goal is to use **some academic vocabulary**, introduce **more complex sentence structures**, and provide a **guided example**.

**Modified Prompt:**
**Tragic irony** is a literary device where the audience has knowledge that the characters lack, and this knowledge is painful or sad. **Foreshadowing** is when an author gives clues about what will happen later in the plot.

**Task:** Analyze how Shakespeare employs tragic irony to foreshadow the **conclusion** of *Romeo and Juliet*.

1.  **Define and Locate:** In your own words, what is tragic irony in the context of the play? Find one clear example of tragic irony in Act III or later.
2.  **Guided Analysis:** What specific outcome is hinted at when this ironic line is spoken? Explain how the audience's superior knowledge makes the line a clue, or an example of foreshadowing, for the tragic ending. (For example, how does a line about a 'happy future' sound different to the audience who knows the truth?)
3.  **Effect:** What effect does this use of irony have on the reader or viewer?

**Support/Scaffolding:**
* **Brief Concept Summary:** Provide a short paragraph explicitly defining tragic irony and foreshadowing and pointing students to a specific, guided example (e.g., Juliet's parents planning her wedding to Paris while the audience knows she's married to Romeo).
* **Transitional Phrases:** Encourage the use of transition words like *consequently, therefore, in addition, for instance* to connect ideas.

***

### Level 4 (Expanding)

The goal is to use **grade-level academic vocabulary**, modify the sentence structure for **directness**, and offer a **scaffolded graphic organizer**.

**Modified Prompt:**
Analyze the function of **tragic irony** in *Romeo and Juliet*. Specifically, evaluate how Shakespeare utilizes this dramatic device to **foreshadow** the play's inevitable tragic **conclusion**. Use specific evidence from the text to support your analysis.

**Scaffolding Focus:** Structure the analytical process.

| Tragic Irony Example (Quote/Scene) | What the Character Believes/Says | What the Audience Knows (The Ironic Truth) | How it Foreshadows the Conclusion |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| **Example 1:** | | | |
| **Example 2:** | | | |
| **Example 3:** | | | |

***

### Level 5 (Bridging)

The goal is to present **content at or near grade level**, focusing on clarifying **abstract concepts** and **cultural references**.

**Modified Prompt:**
In what ways does Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet* employ **tragic irony** to not only foreshadow the play's conclusion but also to intensify the audience's emotional response (pathos) as the narrative unfolds?

**Scaffolding Focus:**
* **Clarification:** Briefly clarify the literary term **pathos** (a quality that evokes pity or sadness) and its connection to the audience's experience of dramatic irony.
* **Context:** Ensure students understand the cultural or historical context of marriage and familial duty in Elizabethan society, as this context sharpens the tragic irony of the characters' doomed choices.
* **Vocabulary Review:** Review high-level literary vocabulary (e.g., *inevitable, impending, dramatic tension*).

***

### Level 6 (Reaching)

**Modified Prompt:**
**Original Prompt:** In what ways does Shakespeare's *Romeo and Juliet* use tragic irony to foreshadow the play's conclusion?

**Focus:** Minimal to no modification needed. The content is presented in its original form, focusing on **advanced literary analysis** and synthesis of ideas. Students are expected to define the term, provide multiple nuanced examples, and discuss the effect on the audience and the thematic development of fate/destiny in the play.