Making a Science assignment bilingual & classroom-ready
A four-prompt system for scaffolded, bilingual assignments. Run CHECK. This tells you if you need to SCAFFOLD. If yes, run SCAFFOLD; then run TRANSLATE. Finally, run FORMAT HTML to generate a printable, styled PDF layout. Works in Gemini or NotebookLM.
What to do
1
Upload one assignment and its reading.One assignment per run. Remove any answer key before uploading; CHECK will stop and ask you to if one is still in the file. A lab and its lab-design worksheet count as one; upload them together. A unit packet with several separate worksheets is several runs; long files lose their tables. Upload the original Doc or Word file if you have it; scanned PDFs lose words, and diagrams, graphs, and photos can't be read at all, so keep those originals for the students.
2
Paste the CHECK prompt.It reads what you uploaded and tells you which prompt to run next, what's missing, and whether any quotes in the assignment are actually in the reading.
3
Do what CHECK says.Usually one of these. For a long lab or a multi-page reading, run SCAFFOLD in this chat, then copy its output into a new chat and run TRANSLATE and FORMAT HTML there; long chats make Gemini fail with "I seem to be encountering an error."
Students explain, analyze, or concludeLabs and lab reports, CER conclusions, diagram or graph analysis, reading with explain-why questions, problem sets with word problems. Paste SCAFFOLD. When it finishes, paste TRANSLATE on the result.
Quiz, test, vocabulary, guided notes, labeling onlyPaste TRANSLATE.
4
Paste FORMAT HTML for a styled layout.Paste FORMAT HTML to turn the text into a styled worksheet with callout boxes, bordered question cards, data tables, and blank response lines. Save the output code as an
.html file or paste into CodePen, then press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P in Chrome to print/save as PDF. Diagrams, graphs, and photos come out as labeled placeholder boxes sized for the original; paste the image in or hand out the original with the worksheet. If Gemini gives you a file or opens a side panel instead of replying in the chat, that's still the TRANSLATE result. Paste FORMAT HTML next to get the print-ready version.5
Run the teacher check below, then export or print.In Gemini, use Export to Docs if keeping text, or save as PDF via Chrome. Copy-pasting raw text breaks formatting.
Prompt 1: CHECK run first, on whatever you have
Look at the attached files and answer in exactly this format. Do not rewrite, translate, or scaffold anything yet. 1. WHAT THIS IS One line: the type of assignment (lab or lab report, reading with questions, diagram or graph analysis, data table analysis, CER conclusion, problem set, vocabulary, guided notes, quiz, other) and what students must produce. 2. WHICH PROMPT TO RUN Read every question, not just the title. If any question asks students to explain, predict, compare, analyze data, justify a claim, or solve a word problem (why, how, what would happen if, what does the data show, explain your reasoning), even one at the end: "Run SCAFFOLD, then TRANSLATE." If every item is recall, labeling, or fill-in with no explanation: "Run TRANSLATE only." A quiz or test is always "Run TRANSLATE only," whatever its questions ask. One line saying which and why. 3. WHAT IS MISSING - Reading present (as a separate file or printed inside the assignment)? Yes / No / Not needed. Choose "Not needed" for a lab, a problem set, or a diagram-only task where the evidence is the student's own data or observations, or a task done from class notes. If a reading is needed and missing and SCAFFOLD applies: "Attach the reading before running SCAFFOLD." - Does the task depend on a diagram, graph, photo, or model? Yes / No. If Yes: "I cannot read [name]. The scaffold will mark its place; the teacher supplies it." Say whether the labels on it are readable as text. - Scanned or image-only PDF? Yes / No. If Yes: "Upload the original Doc or Word file if you have it; scanned text can lose words and change numbers." - Answer key (answers to the items students must do) attached or printed anywhere in the file? Yes / No. If Yes, say where. Rubric attached? Yes / No. - More than one assignment in the file? Yes / No. If Yes: "This file has [N] assignments. Split it and run one at a time." 4. PROBLEMS IN THE ASSIGNMENT Always report the first two items; report the others only if they apply. - Quotations: list each one and say whether it appears word for word in the reading. If none: "No quotations in the assignment." If the reading is missing: "Cannot verify quotations." - Numbers, units, and formulas: list any that look garbled or inconsistent (a unit missing, an exponent flattened, a value that does not match its table). Missing spaces alone are not garbled. If none: "Numbers and units read cleanly." - Teacher-facing material on student pages: standards codes, teacher notes, answer keys. - Anything students cannot do from the attached materials (a diagram, data set, or textbook section the assignment refers to but does not include). Data students collect themselves does not count. 5. NEXT STEP Reply with exactly one of these lines and nothing else: - "Remove the answer key from the file, upload it again, and paste CHECK again." (Use this line whenever an answer key is attached, before any other.) - "Paste the SCAFFOLD prompt now." - "Paste the TRANSLATE prompt now." - "Attach the reading, then paste the SCAFFOLD prompt." - "Upload the original Doc or Word file, then paste CHECK again." - "Split the file into one assignment per upload, then paste CHECK again on the first one." Do not ask the teacher any questions.
Prompt 2: SCAFFOLD only if CHECK says so; run in English
Rebuild the assignment in this conversation as a scaffolded version for students still developing academic English. Use the assignment and any reading already uploaded here (a separate file or printed inside the assignment); they are the only source for quotes, banks, and examples. Do not ask for them again. Keep the standard; change the route to it.
KEEP
- The task, required items, required vocabulary, required evidence, and any required structure (lab sections, CER, number of trials), exactly as the original demands. Keep headings, section order, rubrics, and point values.
- Every number, unit, formula, symbol, subscript, and exponent exactly as written; formulas and variables in plain text (density = mass ÷ volume), not LaTeX. Every data table with the same rows and columns; cells students fill from their own measurements stay blank. A diagram, graph, model, or drawing space keeps its shape and labels; nothing is pre-filled. If a table cannot be reproduced, write "[TABLE NOT REPRODUCED: name]" in its place.
CHANGE
1. Directions: numbered steps, one action each, plain English, two lines max. Remove standards codes and teacher notes. A procedure keeps its original step order and numbering; only the wording is simplified, and every quantity, time, and safety instruction stays exactly as written.
2. Word bank from the reading: 6 to 9 short phrases copied word for word, in quotation marks, chosen to serve the task. Fewer if the reading is short; say so. Leave this section out entirely if the assignment has no passage.
3. Science terms bank: the vocabulary, processes, structures, and quantities the task needs, each with a one-line plain definition, taken only from the reading or the assignment. Include the labels on any diagram the task uses.
4. Background (not from the reading): its own section, headed exactly "Background (not from the reading)", after the terms bank. Only if the task needs a tool the materials do not give (a formula, a unit conversion, a graphing convention): 3 to 5 plain items. Never a statement about what the data will show. Otherwise leave this section out.
5. Visuals: for a diagram, graph, photo, or model, write "[VISUAL: keep from original: name]" in the section where students use it, never in a separate Visuals section, then a list of what the student should find in it (each labeled part; for a graph, the axes, units, and the trend to look for), drawn only from the labels and what the assignment says.
6. Model example: one complete example in the exact format the student must produce, simpler and shorter than the real task, using an item the student does not do anywhere in the assignment. For a calculation, a fully worked example with the setup, substitution, arithmetic, and answer with units, on a different number set. Replace any model example in the original unless every quoted word is in the reading.
7. Frames. Observation or diagram analysis: "I notice ___. This shows ___ because ___." Prediction or hypothesis: "If ___, then ___, because ___." Data analysis: "As ___ increased, ___ ___ (increased / decreased / stayed the same). The data show ___ because ___." CER conclusion: three labeled frames, Claim ("___"), Evidence ("The data show ___; for example, ___"), Reasoning ("This supports the claim because ___ (science idea)"), plus error-analysis and improvement frames if the original asks for them. Calculation: show the formula and the setup with the numbers as blanks ("density = mass ÷ volume = ___ g ÷ ___ mL = ___ g/mL"); never the answer. Short response: a sentence frame per required sentence. Required transitions and vocabulary go in the frame text, never in blanks; a quotation the student must choose is a blank ([quote from the bank]), never filled in. The student's interpretation is always a blank: a frame never states or leads toward the answer, and a bracketed hint names only what kind of thing goes there, never a claim ("[what happens to the molecule]" is allowed; "[the molecule passes through the membrane]" is the answer and is not). If the answer key's idea appears in a frame or hint, rewrite it.
8. Glossary: each required academic term (claim, evidence, reasoning, hypothesis, variable, control, trend) with a one-line plain definition; short lists of signal verbs (shows, indicates, suggests) and cause, comparison, and change words (increases, decreases, remains constant, as a result) if the task needs them.
NEVER
- Quote or attribute anything not in the reading, invent data, or add science facts beyond the labeled background list. If no line supports the model example, write "no supporting line found in the reading" and continue.
- Change a number, unit, or formula. Add commentary, notes, a summary, or citation tags such as [cite: 1]. Return only the student-facing document, in English.
Prompt 3: TRANSLATE run on the scaffolded document, or on any assignment CHECK says needs translation only
Convert the assignment into a bilingual English/Spanish version for multilingual learners. If a scaffolded version appears earlier in this conversation, translate that; otherwise translate the attached document. Use only that one document. Do not add, remove, combine, reword, or summarize anything. LAYOUT - Stacked: every English line exactly as written, then its Spanish translation directly beneath, as its own italic paragraph. This applies to everything: headers, headings, directions, procedures, questions, answer choices, banks, frames, examples, glossaries. In a list, the Spanish sits under the item without repeating its number or letter. - Leave out any answer key or list of answers, its heading, and any line telling students where answers are; in its place write "[ANSWER KEY REMOVED]". After any number, unit, or formula flagged as garbled earlier in this conversation, write "[CHECK ORIGINAL]". Keep order, numbering, point values, blank lines, and tables. A table keeps its rows and columns with English and Spanish stacked in each cell; a data table's column headers are stacked, its blank data cells stay blank; never drop a table or turn it into a list. If it cannot be reproduced, write "[TABLE NOT REPRODUCED: name]". STAYS IN ENGLISH - Every number, unit symbol, formula, chemical formula, variable, and equation exactly as written (g, mL, °C, m/s², H₂O, v = d/t). Unit symbols are never translated or spelled out; unit words in sentences (meters, hertz) are translated. Decimal points stay as points, not commas. - Titles of works, proper nouns, and any word students must locate or produce. In a bank or glossary, each entry is one line, English / Spanish; an entry that already has a Spanish gloss gets no second line. - "[VISUAL: keep from original]" placeholders, which get a Spanish line beneath; copyright lines and standards codes. - Convert any LaTeX ($...$) to plain text; a line that is only a formula gets no second line. Everything else written for students is translated, including readings, background, procedures, diagram labels listed in the terms bank, model examples, and every frame with its fixed words and bracketed hints. Science terms use the standard Spanish term with the English in parentheses on first use (la membrana celular (cell membrane), la fotosíntesis, la densidad); a Latin or Greek scientific name stays as written. SPANISH - Neutral Spanish for a high school reader, tú in directions (Observa, Escribe, Calcula), plain wording with academic terms glossed in parentheses on first use. Where an article or adjective before a blank would reveal the answer's gender or number, rewrite the line. - Terms: sentence frame = marco de oración; word bank = banco de palabras; science terms bank = banco de términos científicos; signal verbs = verbos de cita; transition words = palabras de transición; model example = ejemplo modelo; worked example = ejemplo resuelto; setup = planteamiento; glossary = glosario; background (not from the reading) = contexto (no viene de la lectura); claim = afirmación; evidence = evidencia; reasoning = razonamiento; hypothesis = hipótesis; procedure = procedimiento; materials = materiales; data table = tabla de datos; observation = observación; independent variable = variable independiente; dependent variable = variable dependiente; control = control; trend = tendencia; error analysis = análisis de errores. OUTPUT - Title as a level-1 heading, section names as level-2, numbered questions as level-3, so they export as Heading styles. The Spanish version of a heading is normal italic text on the line below, not a heading. - Body text uses only bold, italics, numbered and bulleted lists, and tables. No literal symbols (#, *, -, >) and no citation tags such as [cite: 1]; remove any that appear. - Return the complete document only. No introduction, summary, or commentary.
Prompt 4: FORMAT HTML run after TRANSLATE to generate a print-ready PDF layout
Convert the entire document above into one complete, standalone HTML file styled for student printing. Do not summarize, shorten, add, or omit anything. Remove any citation tags such as [cite: 1]. Return ONLY the HTML code block.
1. Page: @page { size: letter; margin: 0.6in; }. Font stack system-ui, -apple-system, Arial, sans-serif at 10.5pt, line-height 1.4. page-break-inside: avoid on question boxes.
2. Header: a table with the title, its Spanish title beneath, and underline slots for Name/Nombre, Date/Fecha, and Period.
3. Callout boxes for directions, word banks, terms banks, and glossaries: background #f7fafc; border 1px solid #e2e8f0; border-left 4px solid #3182ce; padding 10px 14px; border-radius 4px; margin-bottom 12px. "Background (not from the reading)" gets its own box after the terms bank, never combined with it.
4. Readings in a serif box: font-family Georgia, serif; background #fffaf0; border 1px solid #feebc8; border-left 4px solid #dd6b20; padding 12px 16px; margin-bottom 15px. A procedure in a numbered list inside a plain bordered box (border 1px solid #cbd5e0; padding 10px 14px), with any safety line in bold. Each "[VISUAL: keep from original]" placeholder becomes a dashed box (border 2px dashed #a0aec0; min-height 3in; padding 16px; text-align center; color #4a5568; margin-bottom 15px) holding the placeholder text and any look-for list already in the document; never write a new one.
5. Bilingual text: English in #1a202c; each Spanish translation directly beneath in italics, #4a5568. Formulas, units, and chemical formulas in the same font, never italic.
6. Response cards: each question and its frames in a card (border 1px solid #cbd5e0; border-radius 6px; padding 10px 12px; margin-bottom 12px), the question in a light header inside it (background #edf2f7; padding 8px 10px; border-radius 4px; font-weight 600). Blanks and bracketed hints get border-bottom 1px dashed #4a5568. In a model example with a filled-in "because" clause, replace what follows "because" with [your reasoning]. A CER conclusion is three stacked cards labeled Claim, Evidence, Reasoning, each with at least three writing lines.
7. Tables: full width, borders #cbd5e0, light header shading, English and Spanish stacked in header cells. A data table keeps the original rows and columns, blank data cells stay blank and at least 0.4in tall, every row with its own blank stays its own table row, never stacked inside one cell, and a units row or column stays exactly as written. Blank cells of any organizer stay blank.
Teacher check two minutes, before you print
- Every quoted phrase in the word bank and model example is in the reading. Search each one.
- Read the reading in the output against the original. Gemini can merge a caption or a key-terms box into the passage text.
- Every number, unit, formula, and symbol matches the original exactly. Gemini reads garbled PDF text layers and can change a value.
- Every diagram, graph, or photo the task needs is marked with a placeholder, and you have the original to paste in or hand out.
- Data tables still have the original rows and columns and are still blank where students record data. No [cite: 1] tags anywhere on the page.
- Every table from the original is there, with the same rows and columns.
- The model example is easier than what students must produce, not harder.
- Nothing on the page (frames, hints, model examples, Background) states the conclusion students are supposed to reach, and every Background fact is correct. Delete any "because…" clause or example reason that's already filled in.
- Nothing your rubric requires was dropped.
- No answer key is on the page, and no line tells students where to find answers. Search for [CHECK ORIGINAL] and fix or delete every one.
- The last item is complete. Gemini sometimes cuts off long HTML partway through; if it did, type "continue" in the same chat or run FORMAT HTML again in a new chat.
- Directions are in tú (Analiza, not Analice).
- Every Spanish line is in italics and tables survived. If exporting directly to Google Docs, use Export to Docs. If using FORMAT HTML, open the file in Chrome/Edge and press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P to save as PDF.
If a prompt refuses or asks for the reading, it's doing its job: attach the reading and run it again. If the model tells you it verified something, check anyway; it can be confidently wrong.
If the Spanish isn't in italics, or runs into the English on the same line Gemini does this about half the time; this fixes it in one step
Reprint the entire document you just produced. Change nothing except this: every Spanish translation is on its own line directly under its English line, never on the same line, and every Spanish line, including full paragraphs, list items, frames, and table cells, is in italics, while every English line is not. Remove every citation tag or bracketed source marker such as [cite: 1]. Do not shorten, summarize, or omit anything, and keep every table. Then I will export it.
Paste it in the same chat, right after the TRANSLATE result, then Export to Docs from the reprinted version. If it still comes back plain, the Doc is correct in every other way; the italics can be added by hand for the few lines students will read most (directions and questions).