Cris tovani conversation calendars to print
Need a way to build a relationship with your students?
As you can see, Conversation Calendars not only create dialogue between teacher and students, they create constant learning opportunities for both parties..
While planning with the district literacy coach this summer, I was introduced to a method of recording participation points and building rapport with students proposed by Cris Tovani in her book Do I Really Have to Teach Reading(106-110). I can honestly say, without risking hyperbole, that it has completely changed the relationship I have with my students.
At the beginning of each week, students receive a weekly calendar with a space for them to write comments and give themselves a score, and a space for me to write comments and record a score. Sometimes students are asked to write something specific in the space, like "ask one good question or make one good comment about the short story we read today." More frequently though, they write whatever they want. Sometimes it's comments about the class or what they did that period, other times it's about the volleyball game they have after school, or about the book they're reading and how's it going. So
At the beginning of each week, students receive a weekly calendar with a space for them to write comments and give themselves a score, and a space for me to write comments and record a score. Sometimes students are asked to write something specific in the space, like "ask one good question or make one good comment about the short story we read today." More frequently though, they write whatever they want. Sometimes it's comments about the class or what they did that period, other times it's about the volleyball game they have after school, or about the book they're reading and how's it going. So