Skip to Main Content

Lesson 1

We will analyze how the colonists gain further influence within the Igbo villages.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I formulate and use questions to establish and deepen my understanding of the novel?

  • Can I recognize and interpret important relationships among key characters within the novel?

Texts

Core

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

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will use the Attending to Details Tool to better understand how the European colonists change Umuofia.

Form a group of four students. Then write the question below on an Attending to Details Tool:

  1. How do the colonists change the culture in Umuofia?

Each member of your group will consider one of the four different ways that the colonists change the culture in Umofia. Choose one of the following four perspectives and complete your Attending to Details Tool by thinking about the impact on the culture from that perspective:

  • missionaries

  • government

  • trading Stores

  • schools

Discuss your analysis with your group.

Activity 2: Read

We will analyze Mr. Brown’s approach in Umuofia by answering text-specific questions.

To better understand Mr. Brown’s approach, discuss the following questions with your group:

  1. How does Mr. Brown relate to the people of Umuofia and their faith?

  2. What kind of relationship does Mr. Brown establish with village leaders?

  3. In talking with Akunna, a leader from another village, what realization does Mr. Brown come to?

  4. How does Mr. Brown’s understanding of the local religion influence how he conducts his missionary work in the village?

Partner with a student from another group to check your answers.