welcome!

This is our space to share ideas, collaborate on projects, and reflect on the themes of our  course. Adding content and sharing has never been easier! We will build the knowledge on this site together by contributing to online discussions, sharing our research, and through creating and and posting to your personal blog as a way to showcase our course creations.
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Overall, this site should help us reflect on the themes course, celebrate our accomplishments, and streamline how we learn and share information.

your teacher:

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An interest in helping young people discover and define their writing voice and reading interests drives Ms. Jennifer Ward to cultivate a student-centered learning environment, one that supports individual learning goals and incorporates purposeful use of technology. In March 2017, Ms. Ward was named teacher of the month by Michigan's 86th district state representative, Thomas Albert.  In March 2016, she was named a TED-Ed Innovative Educator and is also a Google Certified Innovator, National Writing Project Fellow, and a 2014 PASCD Emerging Leader.  Ms. Ward taught for 13 years in a Philadelphia suburban district and returned to her home state in 2015. Most recently, she taught at Ionia High School.

​This is her second year as a Grandville Bulldog.  Ms. Ward teaches 10th grade American literature and honors American literature as well as  Independent Novel Study courses.

Ms. Ward

​stay informed:

Students in Ms. Ward's students and their parents can sign up to receive a daily text message of our homework by clicking on the appropriate class below:

what we're working on:

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AMERICAN LITERATURE:     
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In our study of Lorraine Hansberry’s play, we will be practicing our close reading skills in order to help us comprehend and interpret this powerful play.  We will analyze a number of key quotations from this play, looking closely to understand the meaning and impact of word choice, setting, and characterization techniques. As we read, students will want to keep track of key quotations and scenes in order to help write an analytical responses to issues presented in the text. In particular, we will be analyzing what motivates and particular character’s behavior and comparing those character traits with those found in our study of The Crucible.
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​HONORS AMERICAN LITERATURE:
                                                                      (4th and 5th hours)
As read Of Mice and Men, we'll be exploring how writers develop their characters. In particular, we'll be exploring the following questions:

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS FOR THIS UNIT:
  • Are equality and fairness the same thing?
  • How does empathy allow us to understand others better?
  • ​What is an individual’s responsibility to others?
  • How does a writer develop his/her characters?
LEARNING TARGETS:
  • Analyze the impact of the author's choices regarding how to develop and relate elements of the story (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed)
  • ​Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.
  • Analyze how complex characters (e.g., those with multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or develop the theme.
  • ​Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.​
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​INDEPENDENT NOVEL STUDY:
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This month we will research the issue of censorship, learning about issues of challenging and banning library materials from shelves. Once we develop an understanding of the issues, we will form an opinion as to whether or not books should be banned, and why. We will prepare a multi-genre response to our reading and thinking on this issue. As a part of this project, we will discuss our reading with both small and large groups, craft written reflections via our blogs, prepare a creative response on the idea of banning books, and produce a small group presentation for an authentic audience.

​social contract:

Respect-
  • When you interact with others either in class or online, it is important to be respectful; be respectful of other people and respect yourself. This means that personal attacks, inappropriate language and content, insults and harassment of any kind are strictly forbidden. This online class site is an extension of our physical classroom. Ask yourself if your comments would be acceptable in our physical classroom setting.
Rigor-
  • Before posting a comment, question, or blog entry, ask yourself, "will this forward the discussion we are having?" Your thoughts and ideas should be supported, and you should be using specific details to illustrate your ideas. Your posts should build on the discussion by responding to comments other students have made on a particular subject.
Grades-
  • Yes, you will be graded on some of your contributions to this site. What does this mean? Your blog entries and online discussion posts should be thoughtful reflections, interesting ideas, and discussion provoking comments related to our texts. You will be told in advance which posts will be graded and how they will be assessed. Be sure to proofread before you post.

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