I Can...

     "I Can" statements are utilized in our school district because we believe they help give students ownership over, along with a better understanding for their learning.  During the past few weeks we have been studying the following skills (click the links to visit the Iowa Core):

I can evaluate expressions using the Order of Operations.

Iowa Core, 5.OA.A.1: Use parentheses, brackets, or braces in numerical expressions, and evaluate expressions with these symbols

     A typical math lesson starts with "number work."  Number work is a time for students to interact with numbers and make mathematical connections.  After number work we have a "problem of the day," which is like story problem.  The students must first create an expression that represents the story problem, and there are several number choices for the students to complete.  Our lesson closes with students sharing their problem solving strategies and the connections they made.
     Every few weeks I give "knowledge checks" (which is like a quiz) to see who does and does not fully understand the skills we are studying.  I use the quiz information to reteach the students who are in need of additional practice.

I can use reading strategies to interact with texts.

Iowa Core, IA.1: Employ the full range of research-based comprehension strategies, including making connections, determining importance, questioning, visualizing, making inferences, summarizing, and monitoring for comprehension.

     We started the school year practicing reading strategies through a class read aloud with the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.  This was a teacher led experience so I could properly model and refresh the students on how to utilize each reading strategy.

I can determine text structures by comparing text features.

Iowa Core, RI.5.5: Compare and contrast the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in two or more texts

     Since beginning studying text structures (chronology, compare/contrast, cause/effect, problem/solution, and description) we have focused on chronology and compare/contrast.

     The students have had opportunities to apply what they've learned about chronology by writing a sequence of how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, organizing chronological statements about Michael Jordan's athletic life, as well as a timeline of events about WWII, and finally by recognizing clue words (first, next, then, after, finally, years, months, and etc.).

     Similarly they have had the opportunity to apply what they've learned about compare/contrast by comparing and contrasting two writing tools (pencils and computers) using a graphic organizer (Venn Diagram).  The students also compared two characters from our classroom read aloud Number the Stars.  We used this information to construct a well written paragraph about the two characters.