It’s the end of May, and you are looking for a closure activity. I Can Necklaces can be a great tool for your students and their families to know exactly what they learned this year. We make ours during the End of the Year Camp. They are cut and fun!
Let me take just a minute to preface all this with growth mindset. It is really important that kids know where they are on their learning continuum, the and the bad. It should not be a secret. Students need to understand that no one is good at everything, and everyone is good at something. Take the shame out of the equation. Embrace the growth mindset. This is a reporting system, not a judgement.
I run off the “charms” on card stock. I cut them out and punch the hole. The front explains the concept, or standard. The kids color the back according to their level of mastery. The goal is self-evaluation.
Colors for the back of the charms:
- Uses concept to learn BLUE (above level)
- Mastered: Understands concept GREEN (Got it)
- Progressing YELLOW (Still Learning)
- With Help Only RED (Not Yet)
Make sure to include soft skills. No one is good at everything, but everyone is good at something. Soft skills are not just fluff, ask any employe. Without them, nothing gets done. With them, the business thrives.
There needs to be honest reporting of the data. The strongest weapon in learning is knowing what you need to work on. Some parents used this data for Summer tutoring. They can be proud of what they have mastered, and choose from the yellow skills to work on. We would do from 5-7 each day. We did it fast, so no one could keep up with who did how.
I Can Charms
Each day, I would call all kids who met the standard to the rug. They would bring 3 colors (red, yellow, green) They would color at least a green stripe so they remember the color and cut out at their seat. For the rest, I would call by random groups of 5 to my table. (yellow, red, and blue) I tell each what to color.
My kids love their I Can necklaces! They are so proud to wear them around. I use rope necklaces that I bought from Amazon for around 10 bucks for 100. I buy the jumbo pony beads for them to choose to put in between the charms. We have so much fun while getting closure on the year. It’s a win-win!
It’s not hard to make your own I Can charms, it just takes template. You know best what you taught your students. If you want a ready-made set, click on the cover on the left to check out mine on Tpt.
Thanks for stopping by!
If you want to read more about how to set up camp in your classroom, go here.
To read about Camp Math centers, go here.
If you want to read about end of the year research projects, go here.
