1. Things Fall Apart By Chinua Achebe

2. POV CRJ: An Anthropological Study of the Contemporary Adolescent American  Choose at least TWO (2) of the questions listed on the handout titled, “Questions Cultural Anthropologists Ask”  Using the persona you created, address your questions through the lens of this “outsider”  Consider what conclusions or inferences about the modern American teen might be made from a foreign perspective.  What claim(s) will your character make about our culture?  Elaborate on the relevance of the anthropologist’s study– what  Support claims using clear, relevant examples and observations  Analyze the significance, relevance, and/or importance of your findings as a result of your “study.”

3. Establishing Perspective: Who Are You?  Create a persona as the outsider (this will be your introduction)  Factors to consider  Gender  Age  Place of Origin– Briefly describe this place  Give this character a name ( if you like, give them a “title,” too)  What context or purpose does this anthropologist have in studying the modern American teen?

4. Peer Analysis: Theme for English I  Conduct a close reading of your colleague’s poem. Consider the following:  What is the writer’s claim ( what is he or she is writing about)?  What is the tone of his or her written reflection? Explain using clear examples.  Diction: Study his or her word choice– do you think he or she thoughtfully and deliberately chose words to express him or herself in this writing assignment?  What about the arrangement of his or her ideas? How does his or her syntax effect your understanding of his or her writing?  Finally, considering the diction, syntax & tone, what reasonable and logical conclusions can you make about the author? Explain

5. Timed Creative Writing  TOPIC: “THINGS FALL APART”  Write a poem, story, song, draw a picture, a panel of a graphic novel, or whatever you can conjure that feels most appropriate to depict this topic.  The only requirements are that you encouraged to be creative and that you fill the page

6. Consider and Discuss:  How did you interpret this topic?  What motivated you to select the format you did?  Were you conscious of using images (either literal or figurative) to achieve a desired result?  How would you describe the overall tone of your piece? (1-2 word is sufficient)

7. “The White Man’s Burden”: Kipling’s Hymn to U.S. Imperialism  I n February 1899, British novelist and poet Rudyard Kipling wrote a poem entitled “The White Man’s Burden: The United States and The Philippine Islands.” In this poem, Kipling urged the U.S. to take up the “burden” of empire, as had Britain and other European nations. Published in the February, 1899 issue of McClure’s Magazine, the poem coincided with the beginning of the Philippine-American War and U.S. Senate ratification of the treaty that placed Puerto Rico, Guam, Cuba, and the Philippines under American control. Theodore Roosevelt, soon to become vice- president and then president, copied the poem and sent it to his friend, Senator Henry Cabot Lodge, commenting that it was “rather poor poetry, but good sense from the expansion point of view.” Not everyone was as favorably impressed as Roosevelt. The racialized notion of the “White Man’s burden” became a euphemism for imperialism, and many anti- imperialists couched their opposition in reaction to the phrase.

8. Purpose for Study: Think-Pair-Share  Read “The White Man’s Burden” in pairs and circle words and phrases that reveal the speaker’s attitude or point of view.  Reread the identified words and phrases to determine the tone of the poem.  What point of view does this poem convey?  Use the suggestions on the SOAPSTone form to prepare a clear response in each of the categories to analyze the poem.

9. What do these documents convey about the relationship between Europeans and Africans during the 17 th though the 20 th centuries?  Cite specific textual evidence from both sources and identify which details are emphasized in the different texts (poem and maps).  Write a response in answer to the discussion question above.  Note: In all your written responses for this course, you’re required to use compound sentences joined by semicolons and conjunctive adverbs in order to strengthen the quality of your writing.

10. Character Analysis: Okonokwo 1.Using the first four chapters of the novel, identify the BEST (2) best example of text to illustrate our main character, Okonokwo (say: “O-con-qu-woe”)  Cite page number and paragraph  For your example, be sure to identify and explain the features of the excerpt which exemplify it. 2.Identify the ANTHROPOLOGICAL LENS you plan to use during your reading.

11. Taking a Closer Look at the Text

12. Organizing Key Events Create a graphic organizer with three columns. 1.The first should say “text section,” 2.the second “key character interactions,” and 3. the third “key events.” In each column, summarize key pieces of information for the chapters below and cite the associated text references.

13. In each column, students should summarize key pieces of information for the chapters below and cite the associated text references.  Chapter 1: the characterization of Unoka, Okonkwo’s father  Chapter 2: the last part of the chapter, beginning with “Okonkwo ruled his house with a heavy hand”  Chapter 4: the first two paragraphs  Chapter 5: Okonkwo’s outburst with his gun  Chapter 7: Ikemefuna’s murder

14. Understanding the Text  Swap your chart with a partner to provide feedback. Prompt students to make revisions to their summaries based on the peer feedback.  In pairs, determine a point of view that is representative of the Igbo culture AND examine how Achebe establishes that point of view through his language, story elements (e.g., characters, conflicts, setting, plot details), selecting quotations from the text that support the identified point of view.

15. Anthropological Question Groupings  Who is busy and who is idle? Raymond  What do people value the most? Ronya, Victor, Jo, Layla, Melissa, Azucena, Jimmy, Ailene, Vivany  What do people talk about the most? Marnie  Who runs things at home? Isabel?  Who are the heroes? Brandon  What is taboo? Vivian & Jackson  What is considered fair and what unfair? Kashish & Selmir  What procedures accompany the exchange of goods and services? Isabel?  What are the important kinship ties? Eduardo  Who runs things in the community? Brian  What do people do to “get even” when they feel they have been wronged? Christopher  No question selected: Sydney, Carlos, David, Bernice, Adriana, Adalberto, Kandice, Alex, & Carlos

16. Anthropological Question Groupings  What do people value the most? Zach, Snober, Salma, Maliha, Kerah, Ana,  Who runs things at home and community? Sarina?  What conduct wins the general approval and what merits scorn and ridicule? Sarina?  Who are the heroes? John  What folktales does everyone know? Ajay  No question selected: Carlos, David, Jordan, Lupe, Jahnavi, Saja, Ronald, Miguel, & Leslie

17. Titles  The average Igbo man by tradition is expected to have a title, either given to him by his father or one that he assumes and takes up himself.  The titles are a deep reflection, and an extension of another aspect of Igbo culture, that of speaking in parables or communicating with proverbs. Just like the proverbs which are not expected to be translated else as Ndigbo would say… the meanings of titles are not meant to be interpreted either by the title bearers, especially to fellow Ndigbo.  An exception of the rule may be applied if the persons/people requiring interpretation are non-Igbos.

18. The average Igbo man by tradition is expected to have a title, either given to him by his father or one that he assumes and takes up himself. However, there are titles that one can only bear after going through some traditional rituals and practices… Any one who successfully goes through the stipulated processes would have been considered to be fully initiated, and his peers will no longer have any inhibition in giving him the traditional Igbo 3 – back hand slap and hand shake (ina ito) - a social greeting ritual that is reserved only for the initiated.

19. Title Ceremonies  During formal title taking events, the titles are symbolized through sticking a feather or feathers in red caps (red capped chiefs) and then placed on the recipients head, by hand beads (Iga) made out of elephant tusks or by a piece of woven thread tied to the title takers ankles (ata).  Title holders may also be presented with a specially carved working stick (Mkpo), or a metal staff (Oji) in addition to a fan made out of animal skin (Akupe) with the person’s name and title engraved on it.  Women receive thick arm bracelets carved out of elephant tusks (Odu). From: ChickenBones: A Journal for Literary & Artistic African-American Themes. Uche Nworah, posted 25 May 2007