South Hills 7th Grade ELA Book Conferences

Students in English Language Arts classes are required to engage in independent reading from a book of their choice on a daily basis. Traditionally, students were instructed to complete a reading log to keep track of time and/or pages read. South Hills Middle School 7th grade teachers, Lauren Iacobelli and Rebecca Marion, introduced an alternative approach to address the common challenge of maintaining updated reading logs. In lieu of the reading log, students are now given three choices to show their comprehension of the book: take a multiple choice test about the reading material, present a book talk in front of the class, or schedule a book conference with Media Specialist, Jill Rilley. The vast majority of students are excited to schedule an appointment in the media center to speak with Rilley! Rilley spends about 10 minutes connecting with the student and discussing the book’s content. Following the book talk, Rilley emails the student’s teacher with a summary of what they discussed during their time together.

Sydney Leber, 7th grade student, discussed a reason for choosing the book conference option, “[We] talked to each other about the book which is way easier than a reading log for me…I get really stressed out when the reading logs are due.” Students also appreciate discussing the material with someone who has also read the book. Izzy Ersan, 7th grade student, commented, “She (Rilley) actually knew what I was talking about because she read the book.” Creating these opportunities for student-staff connection and conversation not only strengthens students' discussion skills, but strengthens our community.

Rilley was on board with the new idea right away and is enjoying the conversations. “One great thing about these individual conferences is that they're really helping me get to know the kids better and learn more about their reading interests. I also love seeing the literature through their eyes - each conference provides me with a new perspective and valuable insight! Finally, I think it's really valuable to the kids to have an authentic ‘audience’ outside of their classroom.”