Wrapping Up Things...

Today I collected warm-ups and we discussed the end of Things Fall Apart. We put off the final essay until after the vacation.

The End of Okonkwo

After reviewing MLA format, we spent the rest of the day working on question for the final two chapters of the novel (available online).

Tomorrow we will spend the bulk of our short period on a brief in-class essay.

Things really start to fall apart...

Today we discussed last night's reading and took a few, specifically concentrating on Achebe's themes.

HW Finish the novel.

Ethnocentric Cultural Reletivism

Today we revisited the ideas of ethnocentrism and cultural relativity as they pertain to the later chapters of TFA.

HW Read 22 through 23 and take some notes.

Quiz & Questions

Today we took another short quiz on the weekend's reading and then worked on a few discussion questions.

HW

1. Finish questions if necessary.
2. Read and take notes on ch. 19 through 21.

Hanging w/ Mr. Lee

Reading HW for the weekend: Chapters 16-18.

Okonkwo's Exile

Today we took a short quiz after the warm-up and, after a short discussion, spent the remainder of the period working on the culture assignment that is due tomorrow.

Have fun with Mr. Lee!

HW Read chapters 14 through 15 and finish the culture assignment if you need to.

Ibo Culture

Today we talked a bit about last night's reading and then started a new assignment on Ibo culture (available online) which is due 12/14.

HW Read and take notes on chapters 12 to 13.

Much Needed Reading Time

Today we took a few notes and read for about a third of the class.

HW: Read and take notes on chapters 11-12 (to page 115).

CAHSEE & TFA

Today we started our look at the California High School Exit Exam with a brief warm up and I handed out practice books (don't lose these; we will need them later!).

After a brief quiz on the weekend's reading, we talked about the ogbanje and iyi-uwa traditions that were the center of the chapter.

HW: Read chapter 10 and about half of 11 (through page 103)

Ethnocentrism & TFA

Today we drew Okonkwo's compound (based on the paragraph on page 14), took a short quiz on chapters 7 and 8, and took some notes.

HW: Read Ch 9 and take notes.

Notes and Questions

Today we looked back on the first six chapters of Things Fall Apart. We discussed the questions given out yesterday (below), and I collected them. We then took some notes and had some general clarify conversation about the novel.

Students should be through chapter 8 tomorrow. Expect a quiz.
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1. Describe Okonkwo’s position in the clan.
2. What things are most important to the lives of the people of Umuofia?
3. What do the Ibo people believe and what customs do they practice?
4. What things from the Ibo culture seem very foreign to you and what seems rather familiar?
5. The priestess of Agbala is a very significant figure in this book. What effect does her status have on your judgment of the roles played by women in the culture?
6. How do others in the village feel about Okonkwo’s personality and behavior? Are their feelings justified?
7. What importance, purpose and meaning do the two holidays, the Week of Peace and Feast of the New Yam, have for Ibo?

The Return of POW

Today we started a new poem of the week--"A Native Person Looks Up From the Plate" by Alice Walker--and then started our discussion of TFA with some notes. Oh yes, and there was a quiz...

HW: Chapters 3 & 4. Expect a quiz.

Romantic Wrap Up and Imperialism

Today we started the period with a brief writing assignment analyzing a piece of Romantic poetry as a capstone to our short look at the Romantic movement and Industrialism. We then took a few introductory note son Chinua Achebe's novel Things Fall Apart (TFA).

HW: Read and take notes on chapters 1 & 2 of TFA