Friday, November 11, 2011

Tribes and Trials

Whew.  We're just about done with Okonkwo and his tribe.  I must say, its a bit of a dry book but this year I tried to connect it more to our world and I think it worked a little.  Through class discussions about themes - hospitality, kingship, courage, and achievements - we were able to see how the Ibo people value these elements as do Americans.  We analyzed Okonkwo's faults - and they found several - and then I challenged the kids to turn those faults to virtues.  Good stuff came out of that discussion too.  So I don't know that they are loving this book, but I hope it is decent anyway.  And little do my students know that all of this is priming them for the next round of work:  masks, building villages, culture research, and analytical paper to name a few!  Stay tuned for those assignments and photos.

Click here for a link to novel resources.

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