Center for Teaching and Learning was honored last week with a visit from Penny Kittle and Linda Rief, two long-time teachers of writing and writers about teaching. Kittle is best known for her educational books "Book Love," "180 Days," and "Write Beside Them," which build on the writing workshop practices pioneered by CTL’s founder, Nancie Atwell. Linda Rief, a long-time friend of CTL, taught middle school in New Hampshire for forty years while also publishing eight books on teaching writing, most recently "Whispering in the Wind," and co-editing many more. She received the Distinguished Service Award from National Council for Teachers of English and the Kent Williamson Exemplary Leader Award.

While at CTL, these two educators joined classes. They conferred with students in the first and second grades as they wrote poetry about beach treasures. In The fifth and sixth grade class, they sat beside student writers as they revised poems for effective line breaks. In CTL’s oldest class, the seventh and eighth grade, they conferred with students as they finalized odes, haiku, and free-verse poems about the natural world. CTL’s teachers enjoyed talking with these distinguished colleagues, exchanging ideas and sharing best practices. They left us all thinking about intention, the value of finding personally meaningful topics, and the significance of trusting our instincts.