To Start:
This photograph was taken in 1906 at the Bronx Zoo in New York. The sign outside the fenced primate exhibit read “Sex, female. Age, 23 years. Height, 4 feet 11 inches. Weight, 103 pounds. Brought from the Kasai River, Congo Free State, South Central Africa, by Dr. Samuel P. Verner.”

• What could the people outside the exhibit have be thinking?
  
• What could the person inside the exhibit be thinking?
  

In Class:
As delegations, we're going to evaluate the theory of Social Darwinism, which was used to justify imperialism and human zoos.

Individually, we’re going to begin considering what country we’d like to research and write about for our fictional account. Country selections are due Monday.

For Reading:
Chapter 11

1. What is the moral of the story about Tortoise and the birds?
   
2. Why do you think Ekwefi choses to tell this particular story to Ezinma?
   
3. How is the storytelling interrupted? What happens that night?
   
4. In your opinion, why does Ekwefi allow it to happen?
   
5. Why do you think Chielo took Enzima?
   

Chapter 12

1. How does end of chapter eleven and the beginning of chapter twelve change your understanding Ekwefi, Okonkwo, and their relationship?
   
2. Consider the toast that Oberika’s brother gives when he breaks the kola nut. What values does it demonstrate?
   
3. How are Ibo marriages like and different from marriages in your culture?
   

Coming Up:

• Reading logs for chapters one through fourteen are due Friday.
• Country selections are due on Monday.

To Start:

• First, retitle your starter document “Last Name, First Name – Starters”
  
• Then, name some of the superstitions that you, your family and friends or your larger culture hold. How would you explain them to an outsider to your culture?

In Class:

Check your grade in Powerschool. If there is an issue this class period is a great time to practice your self-advocacy skills.


If you are missing assignments or questions make a plan to get caught up and email it to me.

• I will grade missing starters and reading questions in my next round of GoogleDoc grading. Highlight changes or respond to my comments, so that I know it’s been added.
• I will check other assignments as I have time. Send me an email altering me that you turned it in.

If you aren’t missing any assignments or question, please consider a challenge extension book. It doesn’t require any extra questions or annotations, just the joy of reading, an informal book club lunch and more material to use for your fictional narrative.

Then, we’re going to watch part of the documentary “King Leopold’s Ghost” to get a sense of some of the problems that the Berlin Conference and colonialism ultimately caused.

For Reading:
First, retitle your reading log “Last Name, First Name – TFA Reading Log”
Then, answer the questions for chapters nine and ten.

Chapter 9

1. Why does Ekwefi prize her daughter Ezinma so highly? Why is Ekwefi so worried when Ezinma gets sick?
   
2. What is an “ogbanje”?
   
3. How do the people deal with ogbanje?
   
4. How do ogbanje affect people’s attitudes towards children?
   

Chapter 10

1. What are the egwugwu? How to the community members feel towards them?
   
2. What purpose does the egwugwu ceremony serve?
   
3. What does this chapter show us about the system of justice in this community?
   
4. How does this chapter change your understanding of the roles of men and women in this culture?
   

To Start:
There was no starter today; the internet was down first hour and we had a fire drill third hour.
Be sure that your starter GoogleDoc is shared with me.

In Class:
We had a lively reenactment of the Berlin Conference.

• We decided that every European delegation won the conference, while the African peoples lost, because the Europeans did not fight fairly or behave ethically.
  
• Delegates completed a debriefing exercise on Google Classroom.
  
• If you were absent, you can use this map, of the real results of the Berlin Conference, and this map, of the ethnic groups in Africa, to approximate the answer to question five.

For Reading:
Reading logs through chapter eight are due today. Be sure your GoogleDoc is shared with me.

To Start:

• Lori will be telling us about the Osprey Week adventure to Washington D.C. that she is leading.
  There is nothing to turn in.

In Class:
Begin preparing for the Berlin Conference tomorrow. By the end of today your delegation needs: 

• Basic background information about your country circa 1880. (Everyone).
• A map outlining the territory you would like to claim. (Everyone).
• A completed conference proposal. (Secretary.)
  
• A three-minute presentation prepared. (Spokesperson.)
  

For Reading:

Reading logs for chapters one through eight are due on Friday. Be sure your GoogleDoc is shared with me and that you've supported your answers with evidence from the text. 

Chapter 8  

1. How does Okonkwo react to the events of chapter seven? What do his actions demonstrate about his feelings?
   
2. What is Okonkwo’s attitude towards Enzima? Why do you think he feels this way?
   
3. Describe the tradition that takes place in Oberika’s hut in your own words. What do you think it demonstrates about the role of women in this culture?
   
4. How are white people introduced into the story? What is the men’s attitude towards them?
   

To Start:
In your Google doc, use the next ten minutes to write about a time when someone intervened in your life “for your own good.” What happened? How did it turn out? How did you feel afterwards?

In Class:
Read the primary source documents from Paul Beaulieu and Mark Twain.

• Highlight what you think is each’s main argument.
• Rephrase each author’s argument in your own words at the bottom of the page.
• Consider which argument find more compelling. Turn and talk to your partner.
• As a team, develop a definition of imperialism based on the readings and your background knowledge (NOT a Google search).
  

Build your background knowledge of  imperialism and the scramble of Africa. If you were absent, get notes from a classmate and catch yourself up using:

• John Greene’s crash course video on imperialism.

• The University of Texas at Austin’s podcast on the scramble for Africa.
  
  

For Reading:
Chapter 6

1. Who is Ezinma? What does Ekwefi mean when she says that she has probably “come to stay”? 
   
2. Challenge By Choice – Why is the wrestling match such an important social event for the village?
   

Chapter 7

• What traits do Okonkwo associate with manliness? How does Nwoye relate to these values?
  
• What information and advice does Ogbuefi Ezeudu give to Okonkwo? What is his reasoning?
  
• What did Okonkwo use his machete to do?  Why does he do it?
  
• How did Nwoye feel when Okonkwo returns? What does the feeling remind him of?
  
• Challenge by Choice - What could the descending swarm of locusts foreshadow?