"I Can" Statements
Yes, you CAN do it!
What are "I Can" Statements?
"I can" statements help students (and parents) understand the goal and purpose for a certain lesson or unit. These can be related to any subject area and often line up with The Common Core Standards or the extended standards. We will be focusing on using these statements soon to learn what is expected of us when we write, and help us remember to use specific strategies in our writing.
"I Can" Statements help us understand our learning targets!
Your learning target is the skill your teacher wants you to master when teaching you something new. Pretend you are throwing an arrow at a bulls-eye! When you throw it, your goal is to hit the center of the mark (or as close to it as possible). In school, your learning target for a lesson is the skill you want to "hit"!
Examples of "I Can" Statements
The learning targets and "I can" statements that you will work on depend on your grade, your current skills and strengths, as well as your IEP goals. Here are some examples of statements you may use!
- I can write a complete sentence.
- I can write use correct capitalization at the beginning of each sentence.
- I can use correct punctuation at the end of each sentence.
- I can use commas correctly when writing a list.
- I can write compound sentences.
- I can add details and describing words to my sentences.
- I can edit my sentences and find my errors.
- I can use a checklist/rubric to check my writing.
- I can revise my writing and fix my errors.
- I can write a paragraphs that includes a beginning, middle and end.
- I can write an effective topic sentence.
- I can write an effective conclusion.
- I can include interesting details in the body of my paragraph.
Why should "I Can" Statements matter to me?
Have you ever gone through a lesson and not really understood what your teacher was trying to get you to do? "I Can" statements help you understand your teachers goal for you! They want to help you be the best student you can be!