Exam Tomorrow!!

Today we talked about Okonkwo as tragic hero. If you were absent, print and complete the assignment from Edline.

Tomorrow: Exam on Things Fall Apart.
On the exam: Multiple choice questions on the book, and matching vocab.

I revised the due dates for the research paper--see the prompt on Edline. Tomorrow we will return to the research, after the exam, and begin our next book.

BRING YOUR THINGS FALL APART BOOKS TO CLASS TOMORROW--I WILL BE COLLECTING THEM!!

The Final Straw

Today we presented images of Things Fall Apart. Then, we worked in groups to create multi-flow maps showing causes and effects of persecution/colonialism events. Groups also worked to write Works Cited citations for each of the sources that people brought in. I also completed an in-class notebook check (30 points).

If you were absent, please show me your 2 sources and your notebook tomorrow.

Homework: Finish the novel.

Citation Information for Angelica:

Web Page
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of Web Article.” Title of Web Site. Date of publication or
last update to site. Date you accessed it.

Database
Author’s last name, first name. “Title of the Article.” Title of Publication. Date of publication:
page numbers. Title of Database. Edina High School, Edina, MN. Date you accessed the
article.

FYI-
Things Fall Apart Theme Statements Presented during Image Activity:

A culture will change when a new one interferes.

Following superstitions can result in either success or tragedy.

Leaders do not need to rule with an iron fist in order to be successful.

A strong male leader is necessary for a culture’s survival.

Being hospitable will gain you many allies and bring you prosperity.

Colonization has many undesirable effects on both the colonizing and colonized countries.

Cultural traditions can silence personal aspirations.

Even involuntary actions come with serious consequences.

Hard work almost always equals power and prestige.

In some societies men are the leaders and the strongest members.

Tradition is highly respected and followed within a community or culture.

There is an absolute punishment for everything in society.

Culture influences the way people think.

Elders and men dominate Igbo culture.

To become greatly respected, hard work is in order.

Hard work and dedication make a person rise above everyone else.

Sources for Monday!

Today in class we completed an activity about characters and themes in the novel. If you were absent today, you may make up the in-class activity by completing the following: on a blank piece of paper, choose two characters and complete a bubble map describing each character. Each bubble map should have 5-6 adjective bubbles, and should include examples for each adjective in the map's frame. Submit this assignment on Monday.

For Monday, read pp. 168-191. Also, bring your two printed articles to class on Monday (see previous post).

Printouts From 2 Credible Sources

You need them in class on Monday, March 16!

After a quiz today on chapters 15-17, we got into research groups and discussed preliminary information and ideas about where to get credible research about the persecution event. The research assignment for Monday is to find--and print or photocopy--two CREDIBLE sources that discuss the causes and/or effects of your event. Here is the information from the power point slides that I showed today in class:

For Monday, March 16th:
1. Find two CREDIBLE sources of information about the causes and effects of your event.
2. Print out the sources including author, title, date of publication, etc. information.
3. Bring your sources to class on Monday.

**REMINDER: CREDIBLE sources...
Come from university sites, respected organizations, etc.
Name an author
Offer a bibliography

YOUR SOURCES FOR MONDAY MUST BE CREDIBLE!!

A great place to look is the EHS databases (SIRS and EBSCO in particular):
EHS DATABASE LIST
**You need the EHS passwords for these databases--hopefully you wrote them down in class.

As Kelly P. pointed out first hour, you can also try looking at news sites like the NY Times. When I googled "New York Times Darfur," I got a long list of interesting (and credible) articles about the situation there.

Also--read pp. 154-167 for tomorrow. If you didn't read pp. 136-153, please try to get that done for tomorrow as well since things are truly falling apart for Okonkwo.

GO HORNETS!!!!

Things are About to Fall Apart

In tonight's reading, you will see the foreigners come into the Igbo villages.

In class, we worked on analyzing three passages from last night's reading.

Homework?
1. Complete the preliminary background research assignment (see previous blog post and research paper prompt on Edline)

2. Read pp. 136-153

Researching Persecution

Today after a reading quiz we discussed the research paper. Your job for Thursday, March 12, is to do some preliminary research on an example of persecution or colonialism in the world. Some possible options are:

· Darfur
· Khmer Rouge in Cambodia
· Tibet
· Rwanda
· Black War in Australia
· Iraqi Kurds
· Bosnia and Herzegovina
· Other specific examples of colonialism

You may click on a a link above to go to the Wikipedia page about the example. Read through the information on Wikipedia, and respond to the following in your notebook:

1. Dates of this persecution/colonialism event.
2. Describe the persecutors.
3. Describe those being persecuted.
4. What is the general nature of the conflict?

Jaguar Destroyers

Today I collected the counselor assignment. Then we worked on proverbs. We completed the following activity in the notebook:

Pick three proverbs from Things Fall Apart to study more closely

For each proverb:
1. Write the meaning of the proverb (explain it using your own words)
2. Write the relevance to the novel (how it is used, why it is used
3. Consider its relevance or irrelevance to today’s world. Can you think of a time when the wisdom of the proverb was applied to a modern situation? Can you think of a time when the wisdom of the proverb should have been applied and wasn’t?

Some proverb possibilities:

“The sun will shine on those who stand before it shines on those who kneel under them.” p. 8
“If a child washed his hands he could eat with kings.” p. 8
“Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break.” p. 19
“A man who pays respect to the great paves the way for his own greatness.” p. 19
“A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing.” p. 20
“An old woman is always uneasy when dry bones are mentioned in a proverb.” p. 21
“The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did.” p. 21
“Eneke the bird says that since men have learned to shoot without missing, he has learned to fly without perching.” p. 22
“Looking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast.” p. 26
“Those whose palm-kernels were cracked for them by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble.” p. 26
“When a man says yes his chi says yes also.” p. 27

Pages 52-109 must be read by Tuesday. Since Monday night we are supposed to unplug, you will have a good portion of the hour on Monday to read in class.