Language Supports by Proficiency Level Descriptor
Presto – Chango!
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Pre-Production
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Model the process with think-alouds, showing how to revise or transform the question. Provide annotated examples with key words highlighted and visuals or icons to support comprehension. Allow students to point, gesture, or use simple phrases when discussing the changes. |
Beginning
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Provide academic vocabulary lists (including cognates when possible) and break the Presto–Chango process into clear steps: identify the key part of the question, choose a new format, and explain the change. Offer sentence stems such as “This question is asking ___.” or “I changed it to ___ because ___.” |
Intermediate
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Encourage students to add complexity to their questions (for example, turning a multiple-choice item into a multipart or multistep question). Require students to explain their transformation in complete sentences. |
High Intermediate
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Ask students to analyze patterns in their thinking with prompts such as “What types of mistakes do I tend to make?” or “How does changing the format help clarify the concept?” Have students justify which transformation is most effective and why. |
Advanced
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Challenge students to evaluate and redesign questions to better assess the concept. Encourage them to explain how their revision improves clarity, rigor, or alignment to the concept being assessed. |
