Giving Students OWNERSHIP of their Learning!

I remember that when the Common Core standards first emerged onto the educational scene, a lot of people (including myself) were overwhelmed!  The number and letter combination alone that somehow indicated which part of the curriculum it was covering was enough to make you go cross-eyed!  However, over the past several years, the standards have somehow woven themselves into our daily teaching lives and seem a little less intimidating.  I have figured out ways to chart my students’ progress and have aligned my resources and assessments to reflect these specific learning measures.  Yes, I feel I have come to grips with the CCSS. 

However, I soon realized that just because I understood the standards, didn’t really amount to much in the long run.  It was really my students who needed to understand what they were being asked to learn.  They didn’t care or couldn’t comprehend what L.4.3 meant when it was on their paper.  I knew that I needed to come up with a way for the students to take ownership over these standard performance levels that were becoming such a driving force behind the things they were learning on a daily basis.  They needed to understand, on THEIR level,  what exactly was being asked of them.

Because of this, I began to re-write the standards in kid-friendly terms, placing the emphasis on what they “can” do when putting forth the effort into their own learning.  These “I can” statements were condensed versions of the original ones that often needed additional resources for adults to comprehend!  In addition, I decided to add an illustration to each statement that would better allow students to make visual connections to what was being asked of them to do.  Somehow, having a friendly little face holding a writing sample made the task of producing an opinion writing piece a little less intimidating.

 I have made these statement cards for all of the subjects I teach.  I display them on the board as we introduce that topic or skill.  It serves as a great place to jumpstart a lesson or discussion!  As we progress through the standard and eventually assess it, I place the statement into a large display chart titled “Look What We CAN do!”  The kids love seeing all of the cards pile up in the pockets as we go throughout the year.  Some of the more repetitive standards or the ones that we keep visiting throughout the year are given special places in our room.  For example, the standard addressing being able to produce a one page, single session typed paper hangs right above our chromebook cart and writing center.  The students know exactly which standard they are working on every time they visit this area!

I love how the kids really understand these statement cards and now know exactly what is expected of them.  It has really changed the overall mood in our classroom! It has eliminated any guessing or wondering about what we are going to be learning.  It has made students care about their learning and progress.  I CAN assure you that if you would like to give your own students that same level of ownership, these statement cards below are worth checking out!  Here are the two that I have most recently completed for my own room!

                             

                         



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