Why did Chinua Achebe write "An Image of Africa: Racism in Conrad's Heart of Darkness" in response to Conrad's novel? As part of a study of Things Fall Apart, class members conduct a socratic seminar focused on Achebe's purpose and writing style in both his novel and his essay.

Concepts

imperialism, british imperialism, socratic discussion, author's purpose, things fall apart

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Additional Tags

english language arts

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Instructional Ideas

• If class members are unfamiliar with Backchanneling, conduct a brief mini-lesson on the procedure

Classroom Considerations

• The 10th in a 13-lesson unit, designed specifically for identified gifted and talented learners, that uses a variety of texts to explore the concept of diversity and the challenges of communicating across diverse cultures
• Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart serves as the anchor text for the unit
• The Backchanneling group will need access to computers and the Internet

Pros

• The six-page packet includes the plan, links to Backchanneling resources, to Achebe's essay, the text of "In His Own Words: Achebe on Writing," and directions for the Socratic Seminar

Cons

• None

Common Core

RL.9-10.2 RL.9-10.6 RL.9-10.7 RI.9-10.2 RI.9-10.5 RI.9-10.6 RI.9-10.7 RI.9-10.8 W.9-10.6 SL.9-10.1.a SL.9-10.1.d L.9-10.1.a L.9-10.1.b