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.
b.
2.
3.
4.
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
i. Where are the Ibo people from? Give a short history of the Ibo people
ii. What happened to the Ibo people in the late 1800’s?
iii. What does tribal life look like for the Ibo tribe?
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
i. Who is Chinua Achebe? When and why did he write Things Fall Apart?
ii. What was Chinua Achebe's original name? Is he Nigerian by birth?
iii. What is a theme that runs through Achebe's writings?
iv. What is the greatest influence on Chinua Achebe's writing? What other statements has he made about writing this book?
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?
vi. Should Nigeria reject English in favor of their native language? Why?
Modern Nigeria
a. Igbo
b.
5.
History: British Colonialism: look at all sites before addressing the questions
i. Merriam-Webster: Colonialism
ii. The Myth of Neo-colonialism
iii. The Colonial History and Literature of Nigeria
iv. Missionaries in Pre-Colonial and Early Colonial Nigeria
1. What is British Colonialism? When/why did it occur?
2. How long was Nigeria a colony? How did it affect Nigeria?
3. What was the effect of colonialism on Nigerian culture and politics?
Geography//Agriculture: look at all sites before addressing the questions
i. http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk/about-nigeria
1. Where is Nigeria? What is the climate? Growing season? Agriculture?
2. How does the geography affect agriculture here?
3. What agricultural products are found in Nigeria?
4. How does agriculture contribute to the nation’s economy?
i.
ii.
Nigeria
i.
ii.
iii.
In what ways are the people in Ibo society equal?
Describe the religious structure of the Ibo.
Why did Nigeria have so many coups (overthrowing the government) and dictators?
What is the basis of the Nigerian economy?
Where do the Ibo live in Nigeria?
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
i. What is the definition of a fable?
ii. List three characteristics of a parable.
iii. There are several fables and parables in American lore as well. Discuss one in detail.
iv. Why are African proverbs so important to African culture?
v. Find one proverb listed and describe its meaning.
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
i. What is the "age-grade?" and what is their function in Ibo society?
ii. What is the difference between Diala and non-Diala?
iii. How do the Ibo make decisions?
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.
i. What is a staple? What were the two important staples of Nigerian tribal life?
ii. How is the palm oil used? What might be our connection to palm oil?
iii. How are yams stored? How are yams prepared to eat?
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
i. Why is Nigerian music called "the heart of African music".
ii. What is the importance of the slit drum?
iii. List three common percussion instruments and explain why they are important.
e. Masks
f.
Masks and Meaning
g.
Masks pictures
i. How were the masks used in Ibo culture?
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.
i. Name the ways both black women and white women were treated in Nigeria during pre-colonial times.
ii. What role did women play in pre-colonial Nigeria? What about today?
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.
i. What is chi?
ii. Who has chi?
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:
i. What did the Ibo tribe use for money?
ii. How much typically purchased a bride?
iii. How many shells were in each bag?
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.
g.
h.
i.
http://www.tropiway.com/index.cfm?PageID=2
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.
http://ezinearticles.com/?Palm-Wine-and-Its-Importance-In-Traditional-Igbo-Society&id=5498205
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. 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
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)
i. Malaria
ii. What is iba? Where is it most likely found (in the world)?
iii. How can one get it?
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…
i. Edema
ii. Edema Overview
1. What is Edema? Why is it such a concern for the Ibo people?
2. What can cause Edema?
3. What part of the body is affected by Edema?
Groups 2nd Period:
Groups
#’s Responsible
Members
Group 3rd period:
Groups
#’s Responsible
Members
Groups 6th Period:
Groups
#’s Responsible
Members
1
1,6,11
Will, Jacqueline
Kameryn, Luciey
2
2,7,5, 10
Isaac, Matt, Madison,
Larken
3
3,8, 13
Leslie, Alice, Kait,
Cody
4
4,9, 14
Allie, Victoria, Shelby,
Luke
1
1,6,11
Brianna, Jacob, Mark,
Sophi, Hannah C
2
2,7,12
Joe, Amanda,
Gabrielle, Lexi,
Maddie H., Yovanni
3
3,8, 13
Anna Marie, Brian,
Anna J, Nick,
Cheyenne
4
4,9, 14
McKenzie, Brandon L,
Ashley, Ryan, Mariah
5
5,10, 12
Daniel, Evan, Nathan,
Jeff, Olivia
1
1,6,11
Zach, Ellie C, Mikaela,
Michael, Faith
2
2,7,12
Brennah, Ellie F, Jake
F, Gracie, Teaona
3
3,8, 13
Eleanor, Oscar, Haly,
Sarah, Caroline
4
4,9, 14
Brett, Austin, Lexi,
Tara, Mark
5
5,10, 12
Catherine, Jason,
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
All points earned
-3 to 5 points
-6 to 10 points
Needs Improvement
-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.
Web Quests Tasks
Completed
All areas of the project
were addressed and
handled with a high degree
of sophistication. Project is
interesting and completed.
The project is only
The project is only
partially completed. The partially completed. The
project submitted
project submitted
demonstrates a great deal demonstrates a moderate
of thought. (Between 75% level of thought. (Between
and 100% complete)
50% and 75% complete)
The project is incomplete,
and/or it is apparent that
little effort went into the
development of the
project, and/or project is
less than 50% complete.
Project Attractiveness
Makes excellent use of
font, color, graphics,
effects, etc. to enhance the
presentation.
Makes use of font, color,
Makes good use of font,
graphics, effects, etc. but
color, graphics, effects,
occasionally these detract
etc. to enhance to
from the presentation
presentation.
content.
Use of font, color,
graphics, effects etc. but
these often distract from
the presentation content.
Time Use
Classroom time was used
to work on the project.
Conversations were not
disruptive and focused on
the work.
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
classroom time to work on
majority of the time.
majority of the time, but
the project the majority of
Conversations were not conversations often were
the time and/or was highly
disruptive and focused on disruptive or did not focus
disruptive.
the work.
on the work.
The final body of work
The final body of work was
Grammar, Format, and
had 1-2 errors related to
free of grammar, spelling,
Spelling
grammar, spelling, and
and formatting errors.
formatting errors.
Expert
4- 25
A. Complex sentences are
produced with creative and
accurate word choice that
supports the content.
B. The sequence of the
presentation inspires higher level
thinking from the audience.
E. Presenter thoroughly
understands the content and can
answer questions about it.
F. Presenter’s volume and
enunciation are sufficient so that
all of the audience can hear and
understand.
G. Inflection is used consistently
to aide in conveying important
points and meaning.
The final body of work
had major grammar,
spelling, and formatting
errors.
Individual rubric Oral Communication 25 points
Competent
Adv. Beginner
3-20
2-15
A. Complex sentences are
A. Sentences or phrases are produced
produced that support the
that support the content most of the
content.
time.
B. The sequence of the
presentation helps the audience
to follow the content.
C. Eye contact is appropriate for
all audience members.
D. Vocabulary is appropriate for
the age and experience of the
audience, but extended for
knowledge building.
The final body of work
had 3-5 grammar,
spelling, and formatting
errors.
C. Eye contact is appropriate for
most audience members.
D. Vocabulary is appropriate for
the age and experience of the
audience.
B. The sequence of events is logical
with sufficient details for audience
understanding.
B The sequence of events lacks
sufficient detail for the audience
to understand content.
C. Eye contact is appropriate for some
audience members.
C. Eye contact with the
audience is minimal.
D. Vocabulary is somewhat appropriate
for the age and experience of the
audience, but not consistent.
D. Vocabulary is simplistic (stuff,
things, you know).
E. Presenter understands the content
and can answer some questions.
E. Presenter understands the
content and can answer most
questions.
F. Presenter’s volume and
enunciation are sufficient so that
most of the audience can hear
and understand.
Beginner
1-10
A. Phrases or simple
sentences are produced to
communicate intent.
F. Presenter’s volume and enunciation
are inconsistent which makes it difficult
for some of the audience to hear and
understand.
G. Some inflection is used, but not
always appropriate for conveying
meaning.
E. Presenter has a basic
understanding of the content,
but cannot answer questions.
F. Presenter’s volume and
enunciation make it difficult for
the audience to hear and
understand.
G. No inflection is used.
G. Inflection is frequently used to
aide in conveying important points
or meaning.
(monotone)