A while back I talked about the ACTFL I Can Statements. I got a lot of questions about how to implement them in the classroom routines after I posted that article. There are a number of ways that this can be done depending on your style of teaching and the time you have in any given unit.
Try taking these ideas and implementing them with your students to help guide them towards success in the communication process. Also, teach students how to use the I Can Statements to give them the opportunity to self-evaluate their progress towards proficiency.
Implementation
Create Your Statements: The first and most important task is to create statements that are student-friendly and explicit in detail. You can read more about how to do that here.
Explain How to Utilize: Show students how to use and interact with the statements you have established. Don’t expect students to just read the paper and automatically know how to assess where they are with that skill. Give a rubric to look at and prompt students to practice with someone.
Post the Statement: Post the I Can statement along with the daily agenda. The statements should correlate with the lesson and be something students can do by the end of the day’s class. You can use the I Can statement document to have students check this skill off or you can assess students by walking around the room and informally watching the task being completed.
Make a Unit Cover Page: @BrittanyE_Burke shared in the #ASLteacherchat: take the statements and use them as the cover page to your unit packet. Then students have access to the document daily and can see where they’re at in the language and where it is heading.
Create an Interactive Board: Use the unit I Can statements on a bulletin board or designated wall in the classroom. When students feel they meet the goal, they can put a post-it on the wall next to the I Can statement. Or they can write a reflective summary of why they feel they meet that goal. Use the reflections as a grade.
Periodically Assess: At random, have students take the I Can statements out, give a prompt and ask them to perform this task with a partner on the spot. Then have them rate themselves on this task. When rating themselves, have them use a rubric so they can see if they are meeting the standards. Furthermore, students should not just check off the task because they said a sentence. Using a peer for feedback is another great option for assessment.
Magnetize and Recycle: Use up your whiteboard space by creating the statements, laminating them, and placing on a magnet. Then, they can be recycled each year to save you time from rewriting them. Alternatively, you can pin these to your wall.
Offer Time to Reflect: Always give students time to reflect on their learning. It isn’t a waste of time. Let them think about what they did well and where they can improve. Include at the end of your I Can statements a place for students to reflect on their learning by including things like test and quiz scores, how they studied and prepared daily, how the overall learning of the unit went, and what things they might change for the next unit.
Now what do I do?
In conclusion, I Can statements are a great way for students to measure their own progress. So if you don’t already have them planned out for your units, take baby steps to getting this doen. Create the I Can Statements one unit at a time until you have them all made. They really do only take a few minutes once you have a template made.
Do you have creative ways you use your I Can statements? We would love to hear about them. Share your ideas on social media with us.
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