If you can answer this for me, you are my hero...
Why can we always substitute the contraction "I'm" for "I am," except in response to a yes/no question?
Example: Q: Are you going to blah blah?
A: Yes, I AM.
I never even thought about it until my 1st and 2nd graders were writing "No, I'm not" and "Yes, I'm" on their homework. Try explaining your way out of that one.
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I guess the answer to "I am" vs. "I'm" lies in what comes afterward...
The contraction form is used when there is some descriptor or explanation of the state of being (e.g. American, hungry, not, awesome).
But, in answering the yes/no question, you are implying the last word of the sentence:
Q: Are you hungry?
A: I am (hungry).
If the answerer used the word hungry, then they could contract 'I am'. If they don't, then there is no descriptor of what they are, so they can't contract...
Not logical, but at least it's a rule that you can explain :)
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