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Lesson 1

We will read an interview with Chinua Achebe, the author of Things Fall Apart, in order to understand the writer’s background, perspective, and purpose for writing the novel.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I formulate and use questions to establish and deepen my understanding of Things Fall Apart?

  • Can I use connections among details, elements, and effects to make logical deductions about Chinua Achebe’s purpose and meaning in Things Fall Apart?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe, Penguin Random House, 1994
  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpts from “An African Voice,” Katie Bacon, The Atlantic Monthly Group, 2000

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will discuss the meaning of colonization.

Things Fall Apart is a novel about the effects of colonization. Write the definition of colonization in your Vocabulary Journal: the power of taking control of someone else’s territory and applying one’s own system of law, economics, government and religion. Colonization is a practice of domination, and often involves the act of bringing someone else under control by force.

As you read Things Fall Apart, think about how colonization impacts the characters and culture.

Activity 2: Read

We will assess the credibility of a source.

Step 1

Discuss the following question as a class:

  1. Why is it important to assess the credibility and bias of a source?

With a group, conduct a web-based search for the publication The Atlantic. Discuss the following question:

  1. What kind of magazine is The Atlantic?

Read “The Concept: Why Assessing Sources is Important” and “The Process: Assessing a Source’s Usefulness” in your Assessing Sources Reference Guide. Skim “Guiding Questions for Assessing Sources” to get an idea of how to assess the credibility, accuracy and bias of the article you are going to read.

Step 2

Read and annotate excerpts from "An African Voice” by Katie Bacon. Respond to the questions about credibility and bias your teacher assigns you or your group.

Discuss the following question as a class:

  1. Is this article, according to your research and analysis, reliable and relevant? Why or why not?

Activity 3: Read

We will answer text-specific questions to further our understanding of Achebe.

Read and annotate “An African Voice” by Katie Bacon.

Respond to the following questions in your Learning Log:

  1. What did Bacon learn from the popularity of the novel Things Fall Apart?

  2. What does Achebe call a "miracle" of literature? Why do you think he believes this?

  3. According to Achebe, why has Nigeria "fallen apart"?

Activity 4: Read

We will compare our answers with classmates to check our responses.

Partner with a student from outside your group and share your answers from the previous activity. If you don’t agree with your partner’s answers, talk it out to reach consensus.

Activity 5: Read

We will review vocabulary words from “An African Voice.”

Review the terms on the Vocabulary List for "An African Voice." Add words that are unfamiliar to you to your Vocabulary Journal. Write down the words and definitions in your Vocabulary Journal. For each word, identify the vocabulary strategy (e.g., context, morphology, reference resource) you used to determine its meaning.