"I Can..."

I meant to post this a while back but I guess I forgot! A few weeks ago my principal and I had a discussion about making sure I display "I can" statements for each class based on my objectives for that project or period.

For me, this seemed impossible! Most of my kindergarteners can't read well so I figured I would be spending most of the period answering questions about what it says on the board! Well, this has and hasn't happened. Here is what I created to try and keep up with the "I can" statements...

I took construction paper and glued a piece of white drawing paper in the middle. I used a different color of construction paper per grade level and then wrote the grade level at the top. Next, I laminated them and put a piece of Velcro on the back. I made my "I can" sign and stuck it to my bulletin board, as well as another piece of Velcro. I decided to get rid of the noise meter chart because I wasn't really using it anymore.

Since my principal said she would only expect for me to have 1-2 statements up, especially for the younger groups, I can simply write a statement for each project with a dry erase marker on the laminated paper. It erases easily with a wet paper towel too! I change the statements as I change projects...now I just need to remember to change them on the board between classes!

Here is an example of the two kindergarten statements I used during our Mondrian project: "I can use the primary colors like Mondrian" ( and then I wrote the colors using color appropriate markers.) "I can use horizontal and vertical lines in art." ( and then I drew a vertical and horizontal line by each word.)