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Adapting an Instructional Plan for an ELL

The following are the adaptations I made to a lesson entitled Hip-hop Similes
and Metaphors in order to assist an ELL student, Maria, understand the concepts of
the lesson and improve her experience in the classroom with her fellow students.
1. Maria has several strengths that will make it easier for her to understand
this lesson. She has basic conversational skills in English. She listens to
people speaking English in her neighborhood and she watches television
mostly in English. Also, she can understand classroom routines and
procedures especially when they are on the board or on an overhead
transparency.
2. Maria may have difficulties with several aspects of this lesson; most of
these problems are related to listening to English, but some of the literary
concepts may cause her some trouble as well. It may be difficult for her
to keep up with the classroom discussions because she has an easier time
with written English than listening to or speaking English. She may have
trouble understanding some of the words or points other students are
trying to make or she may have trouble thinking of the correct words to
make her own points in the discussion. It is possible she will have trouble
understanding the definition of a simile and a metaphor; learning English
is one thing, but understanding literary devices is another. She may
understand the concept of a comparison, but maybe have difficulty
understanding the differences between these two devices. Also, she may
have trouble creating a rap because she may not be able to think of
English words that rhyme and make sense within the context of the rap.
Although she appears to be more comfortable with written English,

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spelling words correctly may be an issue so she may have trouble picking
words or pronouncing them properly in order to create a rhyming scheme.
3. a. The introduction of the lesson involves playing examples of similes and
metaphors on a portable stereo and compact discs. I would play simple
similes and metaphors using words that Maria would be accustomed to
hearing on a daily basis so she can focus on understanding the concept
rather than the words. For example, a common simile could be as hot as
the sun and a metaphor is its raining cats and dogs. Also, this was not
included in the directions of the lesson plan, but I would play examples of
rap music just to make sure the students knew what they were trying to
create in their groups. In regards to the PowerPoint presentation, I would
define similes and metaphors, as well as their similarities and differences,
and try to use written examples, including the audio samples from the
introduction, and pictures to make it easier for her to understand these
devices (see worksheet 1). I would emphasize the characteristics and
differences of the two devices so Maria can pick them out. For example,
similes use like or as and metaphors do not use those words.
b. During the learning activities, I would include more written directions
and materials so Maria will experience less anxiety and be able to follow
the lesson at an easier pace. During the classroom discussion, I would
write down ideas the students come up with on the board. Also, I would
provide written directions for the group project to the students. For
instance, I could explain what a rhyme scheme is in more detail and use
poetry as another example. When the students split into groups, I will
give each group a list of rhyming words that may help them get started or
aid them while creating the raps (see worksheet 2). This will help Maria

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understand what words sound the same and may help her feel more
comfortable creating and participating in the group rap. Also, when the
groups perform their raps for the class, I would have each student takes
turns reciting at least two rhyming lines. This will give Maria to feel a part
of the group and the class and give her more experience speaking English.
c. There was no homework assignment included in this lesson, so I would
have students write their own six line rap song using at least one simile
and one metaphor. I would give the students the option to use the
rhyming list. By allowing all students this option, Maria will not be singled
out if she takes one of the rhyming lists. Also, I would mention that if
students have trouble coming up with their own similes and metaphors,
they can use the internet if they get stuck. This will not only help Maria
complete this assignment, but expose her to more common similes and
metaphors that we did not cover in class.
d. I would modify the quiz for Maria that is used to assess whether the
students understood the material covered in the lesson. I would provide
Maria a list of similes and metaphors and have her fill in whether they are
metaphors or similes; I would not require her to match the two parts of the
phrase (i.e. Happy as and a clam). Also, I could include pictures (i.e.
a Happy clam) because she may not be familiar with the common literary
devices used daily by many English speakers and providing her pictures
and exposure to these devices will be helpful.
e. There are several benefits that Maria can reap from this modified
lesson. By providing Maria with more written materials, pictures, and easy
examples, she will feel more comfortable doing group work with other
students and she will socialize more; it will take off some of the pressure

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she may feel while communicating with other classmates. Also, reciting
the rap with other students in front of the class will help her feel like she
belongs to the classroom community. In general, this music lesson is
beneficial because it exposes her to English concepts and reinforces those
ideas while she is creating a rap song in a group. Maria may be more
comfortable with playing music because it is a universal language, but
with these extra tools she will be able to cross a new boundary by using
English and creating lyrics.
4. My biggest challenge during this assignment was figuring out how these
tools can be used to help ELLs understand lessons and relate it to how I
would teach in a music classroom. Therefore, I wanted to pick a lesson plan
that incorporated English in order to make this connection. I think after I
found this lesson, I grasped the purpose of this assignment and it made the
assignment easier to complete. I think I was thorough and thoughtful with
my modifications and I am pleased with my work on this paper.

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Worksheet 2
List of Rhyming Words
ack back, lack, pack, rack, sack, tack, yak, black, knack, quack, slack, smack,
snack, stack, track, whack,attack
ail bale, fail, hail, mail, male, nail, pail, tale, rail, sail, stale, scale, snail, whale,
detail, email
air air, bare, care, chair, dare, fair, hair, pair, rare, wear, chair, flare, stare, scare,
share, spare, square, there, where, aware, beware, compare, declare, despair,
prepare, repair, unfair
ake ache, bake, fake, lake, make, rake, take, brake, break, flake, quake, snake,
steak, awake, mistake
all all, ball, call, doll, hall, fall, tall, crawl, small, baseball, football
an an, can, fan, man, pan, ran, tan, van, plan, scan, span, began
and and, band, hand, land, sand, bland, command, demand, expand, stand,
understand
ap cap, gap, map, nap, tap, zap, chap, clap, flap, slap, snap, strap, trap, wrap
ar are, bar, car, far, jar, tar, star, scar, afar, guitar
at at, bat, fat, mat, pat, rat, sat, flat, that, splat, combat
ate ate, date, fate, mate, late, gate, rate, wait, crate, great, plate, skate, slate,
state, straight, trait, weight, create
ed bed, dead, fed, head, led, read, red, said, bread, fled, spread, thread, tread,
instead
ell bell, fell, sell, well, yell, shell, smell, spell, farewell, hotel, motel
en den, hen, men, pen, ten, glen, then, when, wren, again
et bet, get, jet, let, met, pet, set, vet, wet, yet, threat, barrette, reset, upset

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in bin, chin, in, pin, tin, grin, thin, twin, skin, begin, within
ing king, ring, sing, wing, zing, bring, cling, fling, sling, spring, sting, string, swing,
thing
it bit, fit, hit, it, kit, lit, pit, sit, flit, knit, quit, skit, slit, spit, split, admit, commit,
permit
ite bite, kite, bright, fight, fright, knight, night, might, right, tight, white, write,
delight, tonight
oh go, hoe, low, mow, row, sew, toe, blow, crow, dough, flow, know, glow, grow,
know, show, slow, snow, stow, though, throw, ago, although, below
ot cot, dot, got, hot, lot, not, pot, rot, tot, bought, fought, knot, taught, shot, spot,
squat, forgot
ound crowned, found, ground, hound, mound, pound, round, sound, wound,
around, surround
oze bows, hose, nose, rose, toes, blows, flows, froze, grows, those
ub cub, rub, sub, tub, club, stub, scrub, shrub
un bun, fun, gun, one, run, son, sun, ton, won, done, none, begun, outdone,
undone

Worksheet 1
Simile - a comparison between two different things, especially a phrase containing
the word "like" or "as (e.g. as white as a sheet)

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as the
(as hot as the sun)

Metaphor - a word or phrase used to compare two unlike objects, ideas, thoughts
or feelings to provide a clearer description. (e.g. Its raining cats and dogs.)

of my
(The apple of my eye)