Chinua Achebe is the great Nigerian author of the 1900s, and Things Fall Apart deserves a spot in any high school world literature course. In my opinion, at least. I’ve put together a free curriculum unit for Things Fall Apart with weekly homework, quizzes, and teaching notes that I used at our once-per-week homeschool co-op.
I chose to require my students to also read the full text of W. B. Yeats’s “The Second Coming,” since a portion of it is used as the epigraph to Achebe’s book. I also paired Kendrick Lamar’s “King Kunta,” significantly redacted, for them to read. This song makes direct, intentional reference to Things Fall Apart, and he’s an artist my students listen to and appreciate. It was a good fit and got a good amount of discussion.
To adapt these for your own use, simply click on the links below and to go File >> Make a Copy. That way you can edit the files to fit your own needs.
Things Fall Apart weekly teaching notes
Week 1 Student Homework (Part 1, ch 1-6)
Week 1 Quiz and Answer Key
Week 2 Student Homework (Part 1, ch 7-13)
Week 2 Quiz and Answer Key
Week 3 Student Homework (Part 2)
Week 3 Quiz and Answer Key
Week 4 Student Homework (Part 3)
Week 4 Quiz and Answer Key
Spilled Milk 