"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe

Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe was a great first read in this classroom. This book introduced me to a fictional Nigerian tribe but a real culture. I found myself confused a few times throughout the book, having to re-read sentences and paragraphs to try and better comprehend the story.

Things Fall Apart would be a beneficial reading tool in a high school classroom because of its themes, language and culture. I am not sure what classroom level I would find it acceptable in because I feel pieces of the story can be used in a variety of language arts classrooms. A major theme I found in the story was the idea of change. The culture in Things Fall Apart is bordering a new change, and it affected most characters. Although students may not be able to draw a connection between the story and their own culture, they will be able to find a connection with change in school, family, relationships, etc.

Throughout many of my high school language arts classrooms, ninth through twelfth, my teachers continued developing imagery, figurative language, and other components that develop a story. Based on my own learning experience I felt that another aspect of Things Fall Apart that can be used in a language arts classroom is the use of animal images. The book is introduced to imagery of a cat, later a tortoise, and also a python. Students can make a connection to the story based on their own relationship to animals, as well as learn to use imagery in their own writing.

I look forward to the mini lesson assignment on this book to learn new approaches for teaching this story. I am interested to see how my peers teaching this story will work through the challenging language at times in the story, the introduction of a new culture for most students and the twenty-five chapter length of the story.