WELCOME!

This is our space to share ideas, collaborate on projects, and reflect on the themes of our World Literatures course. Adding content and sharing has never been easier! We will build the knowledge on this site together by:

Reflecting on our learning using blogs,
Contributing to our online discussions by posting responses and questions,
Customizing a personal page (My Page), and
Creating and joining groups.

Overall, this site should help us reflect on the themes and goals of the 10th grade World Literatures course, celebrate our accomplishments, and streamline how we share and learn information.

SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS:

RECENT PRESENTATIONS:

Dr. Steven Larson, Assistant Dean for Global Health Programs and an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania spoke with third block students on May 10th about his experiences in Haiti in connection with our research into issues currently affecting that country. In particular, Dr. Larson focused on the need for finding sustainable, long-term solutions to aid in Haiti's development of infrastructure and government.

________________________

Dr. Robin Ward was in on Monday, April 30th to discuss the basics of psychoanalytic literary criticism with students. As a psychologist and avid reader, Dr. Ward talked with students about how the psychoanalytic approach might help us in our current study of Middle Eastern poetry and upcoming reading of The Kite Runner.

________________________

HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SPEAKS WITH STUDENTS

On Tuesday, April 17th, Arnold Vanderhorst spoke with tenth grade students about his experiences growing up during World War II. You can download Arnold's biography here (pdf).
Arnold Vanderhorst was born in 1935 in Arnhem, Holland. His family owned a bakery and delivered the loaves to customers on the weekends. Life was pleasant, and in 1940 his sister Theodora was born. That same year, the Germans invaded Holland.
In 1942, the Nazis ordered that all Jews older than 6 were required to wear a Yellow Star with the word “Jood” on it. Arnold had to wear his on the way to school while being taunted by his former friends with “Rotten Jew!”
One day when the family returned home they found their home sealed by the Nazis. The Vanderhorsts broke the seals, taking their necessities. His mother dropped Arnold and Theodora off at trusted neighbors and then gave herself up to the Nazis.

Arnold shared his story of hiding with students, staff, and visiting family members. We are so grateful for being able to hear his story!

________________________

EDWIDGE DANTICAT AT HHS

Ms. Danticat was here! On Friday, March 16th, Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat spoke to our high school community during second block in the auditorium. If you were not able to attend, you'll find the video of her speech online by CLICKING HERE. You can also read about her visit in the Delco Times.

In connection with Danticat's visit, we are also hosting a school supplies drive to help a school in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Please bring in new school supplies - packs of pencils, pens, notebooks, binders, paper, paperclips, and more - for students in Haiti. Donation boxes are located in the main office, the library, and outside our classroom. We are fortunate that our local Rotary Club has volunteered to ship all the supplies we collect to Haiti for us! So let's give big!

Learn more about this fantastic author through this series of videos and by visiting our connected curriculum site.

EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS SITE:

Respect-

When you post, it is important to be respectful; be respectful of other people posting and respect yourself. This means that personal attacks, inappropriate language and content, insults and harassment of any kind are strictly forbidden. Consider this an online classroom and ask yourself if your comments would be acceptable in our physical classroom setting.

Rigor-

You will need to be sure that your comments and posts are adding to the discussion of the book or text. 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 forum 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.

Good luck, have fun, and happy posting!

Caribbean Connections:

This semester has been all about Haiti. Having read short stories and personal essays written by Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat prior to her visit to Haverford High School this past March, Ms. Ward’s students were eager to learn more and to do more. Students organized a school supply drive to benefit one of the only free secondary schools in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. But it wasn’t enough to be able to send over 100 pounds of new school supplies to students in need. Sophomores wanted to do more. So, over the course of the last few months, students have been researching issues currently facing the people of Haiti.

Tenth grade students have been learning more about Haiti’s need for public education, agricultural support, as well as the need for infrastructure as they face an ongoing battle with the cholera epidemic. Recently, Dr. Steve Larson, Assistant Dean for Global Health Programs and an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania made a visit to Ms. Ward’s class to talk about his experiences in Haiti in the days following the devastating earthquake of 2010. He spoke with students about Haiti’s need for more than just short term financial aid, but their need for long-term systemic changes to help the country grow.

But student interest in Haiti goes beyond writing a research paper. Students were charged with the goal of finding a way to share their research with an audience outside the walls of Ms. Ward’s classroom. And students have met that challenge is some amazing ways. Fifteen students are adapting their research so they can present next week to middle school and Chatham Park elementary students. Seventeen students are working together to sponsor a large bake sale fundraiser on June 6 and 7 to benefit the building of new wells and HIV/AIDS research in Haiti. Another group of young women have put together a baby supply drive to help support orphaned little one’s in a country still suffering under the effects of the earthquake. And this week, students have organized a hand soap drive as a way to raise awareness and support for those suffering under the cholera epidemic. Tenth grade students have used their research to put together displays, websites, social media groups, and write articles for local news sources. Learning about Haiti and her people has gone beyond reading a couple short stories and writing a research paper. Ms. Ward and her students are just now beginning to understand the complicated yet resilient culture of Haiti and her people.

WHAT WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON:

RECENTLY USED ONLINE RESOURCES:

 
 CLICK HERE to access the full-sized wall below: 

THE KITE RUNNER

The Kite Runner

Throughout the month of May we will be reading, reflecting, and discussing the novel The Kite Runner. Set in Afghanistan, this powerful story focuses on the friendship of two young boys and how betrayal can be devastating and life-change for both boys. We'll be connecting our reading with our previous discussions of themes from The Power of One, our SSR memoirs, and our most recent reading of Night. And we'll also be using literary criticism to aid in our interpretation of the pivotal events of this story. Below are resources to supplement your reading of this amazing novel.

Introduction to Kite Runner on Prezi

Resources for Reading: 

Our schedule for reading The Kite Runner
Listen to this interview with the author to learn more about his background and his first book The Kite Runner.
And start your exploration by going right to the source - Khaled Hosseini's website!
Keep track of each character's moral leanings using this character grid 
And this literary criticism sheet will help us begin to apply our new knowledge of literary criticism approaches 
We'll also keep track of recurring motifs using this sheet
And  here's a wealth of information about Afghanistan, The Kite Runner, and so much more that Ms. Ward has put together for our study of this novel. 
Be sure to check out these interviews with author Khaled Hosseini: