July 18, 2019

Chapter 4

 Group Three

1. An old man refers to Okonkwo saying, “Looking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast.” (p. 19) What does he mean?

2. How does Okonkwo demonstrate his fondness for Ikemefuna?

3. Why does Nwoye’s mother claim that Ojiugo has asked her to feed her children?

4. Why is Okonkwo’s first wife always called “Nwoye’s mother”?

5. What does the kola nut symbolize, and why does Ezeani refuse to accept it from Okonkwo during the Week of Peace?

 Group Two

1. An old man refers to Okonkwo saying, “Looking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast.” (p. 19) What does he mean?

2. How does Okonkwo demonstrate his fondness for Ikemefuna?

3. Why does Nwoye’s mother claim that Ojiugo has asked her to feed her children?

4. Why is Okonkwo’s first wife always called “Nwoye’s mother”?

Group One

1. An old man refers to Okonkwo saying, “Looking at a king’s mouth, one would think he never sucked at his mother’s breast.” (p. 19) What does he mean?

2. How does Okonkwo demonstrate his fondness for Ikemefuna?

3. Why does Nwoye’s mother claim that Ojiugo has asked her to feed her children?

Parent Signature: ____________________________________

July 17, 2019

Group Three

1.  What is the meaning of the proverb “The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did”? (p. 16)

2. Why is sharecropping a slow way to build up a barn?

3. Give two examples of how Okonkwo tries to save his yams during the drought.

4. Why is the poor harvest like a sad funeral for the Igbo people?

5. What does Okonkwo learn through the drought and poor harvest?

Group Two

1.  What is the meaning of the proverb “The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did”? (p. 16)

2. Why is sharecropping a slow way to build up a barn?

3. Give two examples of how Okonkwo tries to save his yams during the drought.

4. Why is the poor harvest like a sad funeral for the Igbo people?

Group One

1.  What is the meaning of the proverb “The lizard that jumped from the high iroko tree to the ground said he would praise himself if no one else did”? (p. 16)

2. Why is sharecropping a slow way to build up a barn?

3. Give two examples of how Okonkwo tries to save his yams during the drought

Parent Signature: ________________________

July 16, 2019

Chapter 3

Group Three

1. Why is Unoka, who dies of swelling in the stomach, abandoned and left to die in the Evil Forest?

2. Why is Nwakibie considered a successful man in Igbo society?

3. Nwakibie says, “You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break.” (p. 14) 

What is the meaning of Nwakibie’s words?

4. What is the meaning of the proverb “A toad does not run in the daytime for nothing”? (p. 15)

5. Why does Okonkwo laugh uneasily at the story of Obiako and the oracle?

Group Two

1. Why is Unoka, who dies of swelling in the stomach, abandoned and left to die in the Evil Forest?

2. Why is Nwakibie considered a successful man in Igbo society?

3. Nwakibie says, “You will have what is good for you and I will have what is good for me. Let the kite perch and let the eagle perch too. If one says no to the other, let his wing break.” (p. 14) 

What is the meaning of Nwakibie’s words?

Group One

1. Why is Unoka, who dies of swelling in the stomach, abandoned and left to die in the Evil Forest?

2. Why is Nwakibie considered a successful man in Igbo society?

Parent Signature: __________________________________

July 15, 2019

Using Prior knowledge and contextual Clues

Group One and Two

Using the following vocabulary words and write it in complete sentences. These words are the same words from yesterday's homework that you have to find the definition for.

1. perpertual

2.  Capricious

3.  incipient

4.  brusqueness

5.  kindred

6.  benevolent

Group Three

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence. Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean in the space provided.


1.  His wives, especially the youngest, lived in perpetual fear of his fiery temper, and so did his little children.

2. It was deeper and more intimate than the fear of evil and capricious gods and of magic, the fear of the forest, and of the forces of nature, red in tooth and claw.

3. Okonkwo’s first son, Nwoye, was then twelve years old but was already causing his father great anxiety for his incipient laziness.

4. But he was struck, as most people were, by Okonkwo’s brusqueness in dealing with less successful men.

5. Only a week ago a man had contradicted him at a kindred meeting which they held to discuss the next ancestral feast.

6. But it was really not true that Okonkwo’s palm kernels had been cracked for him by a benevolent spirit.

Parent Signature: _______________________________________

July 12, 2019

Read Chapters 4-6, then do the following:

Part I: Using Prior Knowledge and Context Clues

Below are the sentences in which the vocabulary words appear in the text. Read the sentence.

Use any clues you can find in the sentence combined with your prior knowledge, and write what you think the underlined words mean in the space provided.

All Group

1. The new year must begin with tasty, fresh yams and not the shriveled and fibrous crop of the previous year.

2. All cooking pots, calabashes, and wooden bowls were thoroughly washed, especially the wooden mortar in which yam was pounded.

3. The drums rose to a frenzy.

4. Old men nodded to the beat of the drums and remembered the days when they wrestled to its intoxicating rhythm.

5. Within a short time the two bouts were over

Parent Signature:_________________________

July 11, 2019

Group Three

1. How does Okonkwo display his fierce and warlike nature at important occasions in the village?

2. Give examples illustrating the Igbo people’s vague terror of darkness.

3. Why would the people of Umuofia be beaten in the war with Mbaino if they disobeyed the Oracles of the Hills and Caves?

4. Why is Ikemefuna selected by the people of Mbaino to serve as the peace sacrifice for Umuofia?

5. Okonkwo is very strong and rarely feels tired. How would you describe Okonkwo’s three wives and children?

Group Two

1. How does Okonkwo display his fierce and warlike nature at important occasions in the village?

2. Give examples illustrating the Igbo people’s vague terror of darkness.

3. Why would the people of Umuofia be beaten in the war with Mbaino if they disobeyed the Oracles of the Hills and Caves?

Group One

1. How does Okonkwo display his fierce and warlike nature at important occasions in the village?

2. Give examples illustrating the Igbo people’s vague terror of darkness.


Parent Signature: _____________________________

July 10, 2019

Group Three

1. Okonkwo is very strong and rarely feels tired. How would you describe Okonkwo’s three wives and children?

2. Why is Nwoye developing into a sad-faced youth?

3. Which one of Okonkwo’s wives is the most afraid of him and why?

4. Why does Okonkwo rule his household with a heavy hand?

5. How is Unoka regarded by many members of the village?

6. Why is Okonkwo asked to become Ikemefuna’s guardian?

Group Two

1. Okonkwo is very strong and rarely feels tired. How would you describe Okonkwo’s three wives and children?

2. Why is Nwoye developing into a sad-faced youth?

3. Which one of Okonkwo’s wives is the most afraid of him and why?

4. Why does Okonkwo rule his household with a heavy hand?

Group One

1. Okonkwo is very strong and rarely feels tired. How would you describe Okonkwo’s three wives and children?

2. Why is Nwoye developing into a sad-faced youth?

3. Which one of Okonkwo’s wives is the most afraid of him and why?

Parent Signature:________________________

July 9, 2018

Group Three

1. What is the harmattan?

2. Why does Unoka sing to the kites?

3. Why does Unoka enjoy playing music for the egwugwu, or the masqueraders who impersonate the ancestral spirits of the village?

4. What is the meaning of the proverb “He who brings kola brings life”? (p. 5)

5. Why is Okonkwo ashamed of his father, Unoka?

6. Compare Okonkwo with his father.

Group Two

1. What is the harmattan?

2. Why does Unoka sing to the kites?

3. Why does Unoka enjoy playing music for the egwugwu, or the masqueraders who impersonate the ancestral spirits of the village?

4. Why is Okonkwo ashamed of his father, Unoka?

Group One

1. What is the harmattan?

2. Why does Unoka sing to the kites?

3. Why does Unoka enjoy playing music for the egwugwu, or the masqueraders who impersonate the ancestral spirits of the village?

July 8, 2019

After you read chapter 1 and 2 of "Things Fall Apart". Please answer the following questions:

Group Three

1. According to the last paragraph of Chapter 1, for what else is Okonkwo known?
2. For what is Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, known?
3. Why does Okonkwo’s father go to the Oracle? What does the Oracle tell him?
4. The story tells us that Okonkwo “ruled his household with a heavy hand.”   What does this mean?

5. According to the first paragraph of Chapter 1, for what is Okonkwo famous?

Group Two

1. According to the last paragraph of Chapter 1, for what else is Okonkwo known?
2. For what is Okonkwo’s father, Unoka, known?

Group One

1. According to the last paragraph of Chapter 1, for what else is Okonkwo known?

Parent Signature: ____________________________