Motivating reluctant readers has always been a challenge. The author designed a conference structure in which explicit evidence of the student's progress is presented. The structure includes a review by the teacher of the student's prior reading level and documentation of the student's current skills. A conference with the student follows in which the teacher shares the texts from the student's previous reading level and current level. The teacher and student compare the features of the two texts, and the teacher names the specific reading strategies that the student is successfully employing. The teacher leads the student to an articulation of the positive steps that he or she has taken to improve. Finally, the instructor offers a teaching point for continued progress, which is undergirded by the positive context of the conference.