Things Fall Apart Webquest

THINGS FALL APART WEBQUEST Overview: Things Fall Apart is set in pre-colonized Nigeria. The main characters are members of the Ibo tribe. Do any of you know anything about Nigeria or the Ibo? No? Well, here’s your chance to learn. Before we begin reading Achebe's book, you’ll need to learn something about the culture he is writing about. Task: You and your partner(s) will research some basic information about different aspects of the book, the author, the Nigeria described by Achebe, as well as numerous cultural characteristics. Once you have gathered your information, you will create a poster to teach your class about your topics. You will then present your findings to the class so that we ALL may learn from your topic. Instructions: Find the section assigned to your group. Read the information on the web pages listed, take notes, cite your sources in correct MLA format, and then use this information to address the questions listed in your presentation.

1. Nigeria

a. History: British Colonialism: look at all sites before addressing the questions

a.i. Merriam-Webster: Colonialism

a.ii. The Myth of Neo-colonialism

a.iii. The Colonial History and Literature of Nigeria

a.iv. Missionaries in Pre-Colonial and Early Colonial Nigeria

a.iv.1. What is British Colonialism? When/why did it occur?

a.iv.2. How long was Nigeria a colony? How did it affect Nigeria?

a.iv.3. What was the effect of colonialism on Nigerian culture and politics?

b. Geography//Agriculture: look at all sites before addressing the questions

b.i. http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk/about-nigeria

b.i.1. Where is Nigeria? What is the climate? Growing season? Agriculture?

b.i.2. How does the geography affect agriculture here?

b.i.3. What agricultural products are found in Nigeria?

b.i.4. How does agriculture contribute to the nation’s economy?

2. Ibo People: look at all sites before addressing the questions

a. http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Igbo.html

b. http://logicerror.com/thingsFallApart-review (Destroying Native culture)

c. The Igbo People – Origins and History

d. Ibo culture

e. Encyclopedia: Ibo people

f. Webster defines Ibo

f.i. Where are the Ibo people from? Give a short history of the Ibo people

f.ii. What happened to the Ibo people in the late 1800’s?

f.iii. What does tribal life look like for the Ibo tribe?

3. Chinua Achebe: look at both sites before addressing the questions. Feel free to look at other sites as well.

a. Chinua Achebe Biography

b. Chinua Achebe and Language

b.i. Who is Chinua Achebe? When and why did he write Things Fall Apart?

b.ii. What was Chinua Achebe's original name? Is he Nigerian by birth?

b.iii. What is a theme that runs through Achebe's writings? b.iv. What is the greatest influence on Chinua Achebe's writing? What other statements has he made about writing this book?

b.v. Why does Achebe mix English and Ibo in his work? Does the use of the Ibo language help or hurt the reader in understanding his work?

b.vi. Should Nigeria reject English in favor of their native language? Why?

4. Modern Nigeria

a. Igbo

a.i. In what ways are the people in Ibo society equal?

a.ii. Describe the religious structure of the Ibo.

b. Nigeria

b.i. Why did Nigeria have so many coups (overthrowing the government) and dictators?

b.ii. What is the basis of the Nigerian economy?

b.iii. Where do the Ibo live in Nigeria?

5. Fables and Proverbs: after you look at these sites, consider the questions below…

a. Fables

b. Parables

c. African Proverbs

d. Background on African Folktales

d.i. What is the definition of a fable?

d.ii. List three characteristics of a parable.

d.iii. There are several fables and parables in American lore as well. Discuss one in detail.

d.iv. Why are African proverbs so important to African culture?

d.v. Find one proverb listed and describe its meaning.

d.vi. Find one example of an African proverb on another website.

6. Ibo Government: after you look at these sites, consider the questions below…

a. Ibo Government

a.i. What is the "age-grade?" and what is their function in Ibo society?

a.ii. What is the difference between Diala and non-Diala?

a.iii. How do the Ibo make decisions?

a.iv. Why did the Europeans think that the Ibo were truly practicing democracy?

7. Agriculture in Nigeria

a. Yam

b. Palm oil

c. Among the most important crops cultivated by the Ibo are the yam and the oil palm. The African yam is a large tuber with a thick, dark outer skin covering white meat. Yams can be boiled, mashed, fried, or roasted like potatoes. The oil palm tree reaches heights of 30 feet or more. Small oval fruit grows in large clusters at the base of the leaves. Oil from the fruit’s soft shell is used to make soap and candles. Palm-kernel oil squeezed from the hard nut inside the fruit is used in margarine. c.i. What is a staple? What were the two important staples of Nigerian tribal life?

c.ii. How is the palm oil used? What might be our connection to palm oil?

c.iii. How are yams stored? How are yams prepared to eat?

c.iv. What percent of the world’s yams are produced in Africa?

8. Nigerian Music and Masks: look at all sites before addressing the questions

a. Nigerian Music

b. Ibo music

c. Nigerian Percussion

d. Pictures of African drums

d.i. Why is Nigerian music called "the heart of African music".

d.ii. What is the importance of the slit drum?

d.iii. List three common percussion instruments and explain why they are important.

e. Masks

f. Masks and Meaning

g. Masks pictures

g.i. How were the masks used in Ibo culture?

g.ii. What did they represent? What is their significance?

9. Women in the Tribe: after you look at these sites, consider the questions below…

a. Women in Achebe’s World:

b. http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/contwomen.html

c. http://www.nigeriavillagesquare.com/articles/rita-gonyok/the-critical-role-of-women-in-nigerian-politics.html

d. Ibo women were not without power, and Achebe describes the umuada, or daughters of the clan, who seem to exercise authority in certain arenas. According to Rhonda Coleman, a critic who has studied the anthropological literature on the Ibo, the umuada also regulated the markets in each town and settled civic and marital disputes. The wives of the clan would bring pressure to bear on a man guilty of wife abuse through public humiliation. Women would harass him in front of clan members with songs and gestures of a rude nature until he changed his behavior. In the meantime, according to Coleman, kinsmen of the battered woman who had married into the clan would pressure their own men to do something about the abuse.

d.i. Name the ways both black women and white women were treated in Nigeria during pre-colonial times.

d.ii. What role did women play in pre-colonial Nigeria? What about today?

d.iii. From the passage above, how did women still keep some power? What did they control?

10. Chi, The Spiritual Double

a. Check out this site: Chi

b. According to an Ibo proverb, “Nothing can stand alone; there must always be another thing standing beside it.” So too, a human being must have some company. Chi is a person’s spiritual “double,” linking him or her to the ancestors, the unborn, and to Chukwu, the great God that created all other gods and humankind. While a man who says “yes” may get his chi to agree with him, that same man may find himself in trouble if he goes against a strong “no” coming from his chi. In the Ibo world-view, chi gets the last word.

b.i. What is chi?

b.ii. Who has chi?

b.iii. Can you think of something to compare chi with in our culture? (Hint: what do you feel if you do right or wrong?) 11. Ibo Currency: look at all sites before addressing the questions

a. Cowrie

b. Among the Ibo—as in many other regions of Africa---cowrie shells were formerly used as money. The cowrie is a shiny, white and tan mollusk (snail), about a half-inch long. The typical bride-price for attaining a wife was twenty bags of cowries. In Achebe’s World, Robert Wren explains that each bag would have contained about 24,000 cowries and would have weighed about 60 pounds. For further explanation:

b.i. What did the Ibo tribe use for money?

b.ii. How much typically purchased a bride?

b.iii. How many shells were in each bag?

b.iv. What does the cowrie shell come from and what does it look like?

12. Ibo Edibles: Part One

a. http://www.bioline.org.br/request?np09028

b. http://www.ehow.com/list_7365110_igbo-spices.html

c. Alligator pepper: sometimes called wild ginger or malegueta (Portuguese). This spice grows well on land newly cleared and burnt for farming. Alligator Pepper picture

d. http://eatyourworld.com/destinations/africa/general_sierra_leone/sierra_leone/what_to_eat/foofoo

e. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_m3X6qx9oI&noredirect=1

f. http://www.tropiway.com/index.cfm?PageID=2

g. foo-foo: a dough made from mashed yams or from another tuber, called cassava. Foo-foo might be served in a calabash, a container made from hollow shells of the gourd-like fruit of the calabash tree. Foo-foo, usually eaten with a tasty sauce, is a staple food in many regions of West Africa.

h. http://ezinearticles.com/?Palm-Wine-and-Its-Importance-In-Traditional-Igbo-Society&id=5498205

i. Palm wine: describe what you have learned about Palm Wine and its significance to the Ibo culture especially with respect to hospitality and the economy

i.i. Describe what you have learned about these edibles spice and the significance of each to the Ibo culture and/or economy

13. Ibo Edibles: Part Two

a. Kola nut: a nut inside the kola, which looks like a green grapefruit. Nuts are silver or pink and their juice contains caffeine . Kola Nut

b. Coco-yam: a large-leafed plant with round underground tubers, called taro in Asia, and known in the United states as the base for Hawaiian poi. See Taro plant.

c. Cassava: root vegetable, also called manioc. Its leaves are rich in nutrients. The roots are processed to make foo-foo. The leaves are cooked as a green vegetable. In granular form, cassava is known as tapioca. Cassava is a staple food in many parts of West Africa. See Casava

c.i. Describe each of the above edibles; explain what you have learned about each of them. Discuss the importance of each to the Ibo culture and economy

14. Common Ailments

a. Iba (malaria)

a.i. Malaria

a.ii. What is iba? Where is it most likely found (in the world)?

a.iii. How can one get it?

a.iv. What are the symptoms? (What does it feel like to have it?)

b. Edema: The Swelling Disease: after you look at these sites, consider the questions below… b.i. Edema

b.ii. Edema Overview

b.ii.1. What is Edema? Why is it such a concern for the Ibo people?

b.ii.2. What can cause Edema?

b.ii.3. What part of the body is affected by Edema?

Groups 2nd Period:

Groups 1 2 3 4 #’s Responsible 1,6,11 2,7,5, 10 3,8, 13 4,9, 14 Members Will, Jacqueline Isaac, Matt, Madison, Leslie, Alice, Kait, Allie, Victoria, Shelby, Kameryn, Luciey Larken Cody Luke

Group 3rd period:

Groups 1 2 3 4 5 #’s Responsible 1,6,11 2,7,12 3,8, 13 4,9, 14 5,10, 12 Members Brianna, Jacob, Mark, Joe, Amanda, Anna Marie, Brian, McKenzie, Brandon L, Daniel, Evan, Nathan, Sophi, Hannah C Gabrielle, Lexi, Anna J, Nick, Ashley, Ryan, Mariah Jeff, Olivia Maddie H., Yovanni Cheyenne Groups 6th Period:

Groups 1 2 3 4 5 #’s Responsible 1,6,11 2,7,12 3,8, 13 4,9, 14 5,10, 12 Members Zach, Ellie C, Mikaela, Brennah, Ellie F, Jake Eleanor, Oscar, Haly, Brett, Austin, Lexi, Catherine, Jason, Michael, Faith F, Gracie, Teaona Sarah, Caroline Tara, Mark David, Noah, Ethan

What does it take to get an A in your presentation? Rubric/ Requirements Present all aspects of your #’s in a power-point as well as one other way to the group. Poster is a guide. DO NOT write everything on it. You must use it as a prompt and then add additional information. Require your audience to do something. They must be engaged. This is a Formal Presentation so a 25 point speaking grade will be for individual member. See second rubric.

Group Rubric.Exceptional Admirable Developing Needs Improvement All points earned -3 to 5 points -6 to 10 points -11 or more

Usually able to use Occasionally able to use Successfully uses Needs assistance or suggested Internet links to suggested Internet links to suggested Internet links to supervision to use Use of Internet (Links find information and find information and find information and suggested Internet links Provided) navigates within these navigates within these navigates within these sites and/or to navigate within sites easily without sites easily without easily without assistance. these sites. assistance. assistance.

The project is only The project is only The project is incomplete, All areas of the project partially completed. The partially completed. The and/or it is apparent that were addressed and Web Quests Tasks project submitted project submitted little effort went into the handled with a high degree Completed demonstrates a great deal demonstrates a moderate development of the of sophistication. Project is of thought. (Between 75% level of thought. (Between project, and/or project is interesting and completed. and 100% complete) 50% and 75% complete) less than 50% complete.

Makes use of font, color, Makes excellent use of Makes good use of font, Use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. but Project - font, color, graphics, color, graphics, effects, graphics, effects etc. but occasionally these detract Attractiveness effects, etc. to enhance the etc. to enhance to these often distract from from the presentation presentation. presentation. the presentation content. content.

Classroom time was used Classroom time was used Classroom time was used The Student did not use to work on the project the to work on the project the to work on the project. classroom time to work on majority of the time. majority of the time, but Time Use Conversations were not the project the majority of Conversations were not conversations often were disruptive and focused on the time and/or was highly disruptive and focused on disruptive or did not focus the work. disruptive. the work. on the work.

The final body of work The final body of work The final body of work The final body of work was Grammar, Format, and had 1-2 errors related to had 3-5 grammar, had major grammar, free of grammar, spelling, Spelling grammar, spelling, and spelling, and formatting spelling, and formatting and formatting errors. formatting errors. errors. errors. Individual rubric Oral Communication 25 points Expert Competent Adv. Beginner Beginner 4- 25 3-20 2-15 1-10 A. Complex sentences are produced A. Complex sentences are producedA. Sentences or phrases are produced A. Phrases or simple sentences with creative and accurate word that support the content. that support the content most of the time. are produced to communicate choice that supports the content. intent.

B. The sequence of the presentation B. The sequence of events is logical with inspires higher level thinking from the B. The sequence of the presentation sufficient details for audience B The sequence of events lacks audience. helps the audience to follow the understanding. sufficient detail for the audience to content. understand content. C. Eye contact is appropriate for all audience members. C. Eye contact is appropriate for some C. Eye contact is appropriate for audience members. C. Eye contact with the audience is D. Vocabulary is appropriate for the most audience members. minimal. age and experience of the audience, D. Vocabulary is somewhat appropriate for but extended for knowledge building. D. Vocabulary is appropriate for the the age and experience of the audience, D. Vocabulary is simplistic (stuff, age and experience of the audience. but not consistent. things, you know). E. Presenter thoroughly understands the content and can answer E. Presenter understands the content and questions about it. E. Presenter understands the can answer some questions. content and can answer most E. Presenter has a basic F. Presenter’s volume and questions. understanding of the content, but enunciation are sufficient so that all cannot answer questions. of the audience can hear and F. Presenter’s volume and enunciation understand. F. Presenter’s volume and are inconsistent which makes it difficult for enunciation are sufficient so that some of the audience to hear and F. Presenter’s volume and most of the audience can hear and understand. enunciation make it difficult for the G. Inflection is used consistently to understand. audience to hear and understand. aide in conveying important points G. Some inflection is used, but not always and meaning. appropriate for conveying meaning. G. Inflection is frequently used to G. No inflection is used. aide in conveying important points or (monotone) meaning.