Lesson 9

Lesson Goals

Texts

Core

• • Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, Penguin Random House, 1994

• • “Igbo Culture and History,” Don Ohadike, 1994

Materials

Tools

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Vocabulary Journal

Reference Guides

• Academic Discussion Reference Guide

Editable Google Docs

• Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool

• Mentor Sentence Journal

• Vocabulary Journal

Activity 1: Read

We will learn about Igbo marriages.

In a small group, read and annotate the section “Igbo Marriage Customs” (xxx). Discuss the following question:

1. What connections can you make between Things Fall Apart and “Igbo Marriage Customs?”

Share your connections with your class.

Activity 2: Discuss

We will compare the wedding and funeral ceremonies in the book with our own cultural practices.

With your group, discuss how the Igbo wedding and funeral ceremonies are similar to ones in your culture.

Respond to the following questions:

1. What are the moods of Chapter 12 and 13?

2. How does Achebe use word choice and language to set the mood?

Activity 3: Read

We will consider the consequences of Okonkwo’s inadvertent crime and his sentence.

Listen as your teacher or one of your peers reads a passage aloud, from "But before this quiet and final rite" on page 123 until the end of the chapter.

Discuss the following question with a partner:

1. What do you think will happen to Okonkwo now that he has been exiled from his village for seven years? Why? What evidence from the text supports your prediction?

Pick one idea from your discussion to share with the class.

Activity 4: Read

We will use evidence from the text to predict Okonkwo’s response to being exiled.

On your Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool, write down the following guiding question in the space provided at the top:

1. How will Okonkwo respond to being exiled to his mother’s village?

As you read the text, pay attention to details that relate to the guiding question. Depending on how long the section of text is, you might find several examples. You can use the Attend to Details row to write down the details that most strongly relate to the guiding question.

In the Analyze the Details row, write down your thinking. Doing so can help you ensure there is a clear connection among the details you identified, your analysis, and the guiding question.

In the third row, Explain Connections, write down your thinking about how the details connect to each other. Do the facts and information, taken together, lead to a conclusion? Are they details from a narrative that help you analyze a character? Are they indicators of an author’s perspective that you intend to support or refute?

In the final row, form and express a claim. Look back over the tool and consider the guiding question, the details, and how they connect to each other. The conclusion you have drawn based on your analysis of the details in the previous rows should become your claim. Communicate that claim in a clear and direct sentence.

Activity 5: Write

We will use our Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tools to write responses.

Use the quotes and analysis from your Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to write a paragraph response to the following question:

1. Based on what you know about Oknonkwo, how will he respond to being exiled to his mother’s village?

In your response, do the following:

• Introduce the situation.

• Include a strong claim that answers the question.

• Include at least two quotes as evidence.

• Analyze each quote and relate it to the claim.

• Conclude with a prediction of what will happen to Okonkwo.

Activity 6: Read

For homework, we will identify key words and writing techniques that we plan to use in our responses to the Section Diagnostic.

For homework, review your Vocabulary Journal. Identify a significant word or words that you would like to use in your response to the Section Diagnostic.

Review your Mentor Sentence Journal. Select at least one technique that you plan to use when writing your response to the Section Diagnostic.