How to write "I can" statements

1 What an "I can" statement is

An "I can" statement is a learning target for one lesson or a few days, written from the student's side. Instead of a standard written for adults, it says in plain words what the student will be able to do: "I can add two-digit numbers by making a ten." It is posted where students can see it, read at the start of the lesson, and checked at the end.

It has two jobs. For students, it answers the question "what are we doing today, and how will I know I can do it?" For you, it forces a decision about what this lesson is for. A lesson that tries to teach four things usually teaches none of them well; a lesson with one clear target is easier to plan, easier to teach and easier to check.

An "I can" statement is not the same as a standard. A standard often covers a whole unit or a whole year of work, and its wording is written for teachers and curriculum writers. One standard may become five or six "I can" statements across a unit, each one a step toward the whole. Your school may call them learning targets, objectives or success criteria; the idea is the same.

2 Starting from the standard

Every good "I can" statement grows out of a standard your school or state expects you to teach. Start there, not from an activity you like.

1. Find the standard for the lesson in your curriculum guide or your state's standards.
2. Circle the verbs. These are what students must do: compare, explain, solve, describe, write.
3. Underline the nouns. These are what they do it to: fractions with like denominators, the main idea, a two-step word problem.
4. Split it into steps. A standard with three verbs is at least three targets. Put them in the order you will teach them.
5. Pick today's step and write that one as an "I can" statement.

Here is how a single, made-up standard might split. Standard: Compare two fractions with the same numerator or the same denominator, record the comparison with symbols, and justify it with a model. That becomes three statements across three days: "I can compare two fractions that have the same bottom number." Then: "I can compare two fractions that have the same top number." Then: "I can draw a picture to prove which fraction is bigger, and write it with greater than, less than or equals."

Notice what the statements leave out: the standard's code, and the words numerator and denominator on the first day. Add the proper terms once students have used them in a lesson. A target students can't read is just another poster.

3 A recipe: I can, a verb, what, and how

Most good statements follow the same four-part shape. Fill in each part and read it aloud to check it sounds like something a student would say.

1. I can: always first person, always present tense. Not "Students will be able to".
2. A verb you can see: something a student does that you could watch or hear.
3. What: the content, in the words you will use in the lesson.
4. How or how well, when it helps: with a model, in my own words, without counting on my fingers, using two details from the text.

Put together: "I can retell a story in order using first, next, then and last." "I can solve two-step word problems and check my answer with an estimate." "I can explain how the author shows a character's feelings using two details from the text."

The fourth part is what makes a statement checkable. "I can find the main idea" is fine, but "I can find the main idea and two details that support it" tells the student what a complete answer looks like, and tells you what to look for on the exit ticket.

Keep each statement to one sentence and, for younger students, to about ten words. If it needs "and" twice, it is probably two statements.

4 Verbs you can see, and verbs to avoid

The verb is the most important word in the statement. If you can't see or hear a student do it, you can't check it, and neither can they.

Verbs that work

• Math: count, add, subtract, multiply, divide, compare, round, measure, draw, show, solve, estimate, explain, check.
• Reading: read, retell, name, find, describe, compare, explain, ask and answer, sort, point to.
• Writing: write, plan, add, revise, fix, spell, punctuate, combine, choose.
• Any subject: label, list, sort, match, build, record, tell a partner, prove.

Verbs to swap out

• Understand: what would understanding look like? "I can explain" or "I can show" says it.
• Learn: every lesson is about learning. Say what they will do.
• Know: fine for facts you can check quickly ("I can know my doubles facts by heart" can be heard in a minute), but weak for ideas.
• Appreciate, be aware of, become familiar with: none of these can be seen. Pick the action that would show them.

A quick test: read the statement and ask, "What would a student do to show me this?" If your answer begins with a different verb from the one in the statement, use that verb instead.

5 Before and after, by grade

These examples are written for this guide. Each "before" is a common first draft, and each "after" fixes one problem.

Kindergarten to 2nd grade

• Before: "I can understand numbers to 20." After: "I can count objects to 20 and say how many."
• Before: "I can learn about short vowels." After: "I can read words with short a, like cat and map."
• Before: "I can know about the story." After: "I can tell who is in the story and where it happens."

3rd to 5th grade

• Before: "I can do fractions." After: "I can show a fraction on a number line."
• Before: "I can learn about main idea." After: "I can find the main idea of a paragraph and two details that support it."
• Before: "I can understand area." After: "I can find the area of a rectangle by multiplying its length and width."

6th to 8th grade

• Before: "I can understand ratios." After: "I can write a ratio three ways and explain what it compares."
• Before: "I can analyze a text." After: "I can cite two pieces of evidence that support my claim about the text."
• Before: "I can solve equations." After: "I can solve two-step equations and check my answer by substituting it back in."

6 Using the statement in the lesson

A statement on the wall that nobody reads does nothing. Use it three times in every lesson: at the start, in the middle and at the end.

1. At the start, read it together and ask one student to say it in their own words.
2. In the middle, point back to it when students practice: "Remember, today we can show a fraction on a number line. Show me on yours."
3. At the end, ask students to rate themselves: a thumb up, sideways or down, or a quick mark on paper. Then check with one question that matches the statement.

The end-of-lesson check matters most. A student's own rating is useful, but it is not proof. A one-question exit ticket that asks students to do the thing in the statement tells you who really can. If the statement says "I can show a fraction on a number line", the exit ticket is a number line and a fraction.

What to say"Look at our target: I can find the main idea of a paragraph and two details. On your ticket, write the main idea of this paragraph, then two details. If you can do that, you can do today's target."

7 Printing them and tracking who can

The free "I can" statements by grade pages have statements for kindergarten to 8th grade in math and reading and writing, written for this site in plain words, grouped by strand, with no standards codes. Use them as a starting point and rewrite them to match your own curriculum's order and words. Each grade's page, such as 3rd grade, prints three ways:

• Strips: each statement on its own strip to cut out and post with the lesson.
• A poster: every statement for a subject on one sheet, grouped by strand.
• A class checklist: one sheet per strand, with a row for each student and a column for each statement. Write names on the paper by hand and mark each box: a check for yes, a squiggle for almost, blank for not yet.

The checklist is a good way to see a whole unit at once. Mark it from exit tickets each day, and the empty boxes show you which students and which statements to come back to in small groups. If you keep marks on a computer, the gradebook keeps names on that computer only and tallies exit tickets as got it, almost or not yet.

The statements on the pages are a draft for your class, not a requirement. Change the wording to match how you teach, add one your curriculum has that the page doesn't, and cut ones you won't get to.

8 Common mistakes and fixes

• The statement is an activity. "I can do the fraction worksheet" says what, not what for. Name the skill the worksheet practices.
• It covers the whole unit. "I can do multiplication" is weeks of work. Split it into steps.
• It uses words students don't know yet. Teach the term first, then put it in the statement.
• It never changes. If the same target is up for two weeks, either the lesson moved on and the poster didn't, or the target is too big.
• Nobody checks it. End every lesson with one question that matches the statement.
• It's written for adults. Read it aloud to a student. If they can't say it back, rewrite it.

You don't need to rewrite every statement at once. Fix the ones for next week, check them with an exit ticket, and keep the ones that worked for next year.