Things Fall Apart Peer Review

(Thanks to Ms. Roehl for this great activity!)

Writer: Tell your responder what you need from them.

Responder:

1. Write down these questions or concerns at the top of the paper.

2. Read introductory paragraph. How does the author draw you in? Put a Bracket around the thesis.

3. Before continuing your reading, check the topic sentences of each body paragraph – does each correspond to an idea mentioned in the thesis? Underline the ideas in the topic sentences that correspond to the thesis. If you cannot do this, the topic sentences need revision.

4. Read the body paragraphs. Identify the points and illustrations. Put a P and I in the margin by each point and illustration.

5. Evaluate each explanation – does the writer clearly explain how a literary device helps prove the point? Write + or - in the margin next to each E if a discussion of a literary device is evident.

6. Read the conclusion. Circle the section where the author shows how this topic connects to life.

7. Go back to the essay to help the writer with her/his particular questions or concerns. Talk together about them, and come up with a plan for the writer.

An African Voice

Please leave a comment in response to our reading of An African Voice. Your comment should:

1. Include your name and class period
2. Include the quote that you're going to discuss
3. Include 2-3 sentences of explanation of why you selected that quote.

You should select a quote to post that does one of the following:

• is the most interesting/thought provoking quote in the interview
• is, in your opinion, the most important or significant quote in the interview
• has the greatest connection to the thematic ideas explored in Things Fall Apart.

If you can't find your copy of the article, you can reread it HERE.

Don't forget to finish reading the novel this weekend!

Sample PIE for TFA

POINT - Achebe’s sensory imagery and personification portray the earth and the land as a living and often angry being in Igbo culture.

ILUSTRATION/ WITH PLOT CONTEXT - Achebe vividly describes the land of Mbanta shortly after Okonkwo’s banishment from Umuofia. “All the grass had long been scorched brown and the sands felt like live coals to the feet. Evergreen trees wore a dusty coat of brown.. The birds were silenced in the forests, and the world lay panting under the live vibrating heat…[the earth] was angry, metallic, and thirsty” (Achebe 130).

EXPLANATION – The earth has turned from a lush, productive being to a withering and angry soul who is “panting” and gasping for air. The “scorched brown” color, “silence in the forests” and “vibrating heat” create images of earth as a place that resembles hell more than it does earth. The personified earth is also weary as it wears a “dusty coat of brown” and is “angry” and “thirsty.” Okonkwo and the earth meld into one person through these images; both beings are full of angst and hungry for the lush life that they once knew..

Classical Roots--Things Fall Apart

Here's the list of roots that you'll need to know for our first test:

• uni
• sol
• mono
• di
• bi
• du
• tri
• quad
• penta
• quint
• hex
• sex
• sept
• hept
• oct
• no
• dec
• mal
• bene
• vollen
• path
• sym
• en