Welcome future 10th grade Honors students,
Research has shown that students who read over the summer break have less regression in reading skills, which happens any time students stop reading for long stretches of time. This is one reason there is a summer reading assignment. It will help keep those reading and critical thinking skills sharp! Another reason is so when Kamiak starts in September, we can get right into the rhythm of school, utilizing our shared experience of reading a class novel and applying it within the first weeks of school. The summer reading is outlined below.
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Copies are now available for check out at the Kamiak library. Students may also purchase their own copy at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Half Price Books, etc.
Chinua Achebe was born in Nigeria in 1930. He was raised in the large village of Ogidi, one of the first centers of Anglican missionary work in Eastern Nigeria, and is a graduate of University College, Ibadan. Cited in the London Sunday Times as one of the "1,000 Makers of the Twentieth Century" for defining "a modern African literature that was truly African" and thereby making "a major contribution to world literature," Chinua Achebe has published novels short stories, essays, and children's books. Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe's masterpiece, has been published in fifty different languages and has sold millions of copies in the United States since its original publication in 1958-1959. Mr. Achebe lives with his wife in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, where they teach at Bard College. They have four children and three grandchildren.
The Assignment
Read Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe. While reading, note important passages that reveal themes, characterization of Okonkwo, and aspects of Igbo culture.
If you checked out a book, use sticky notes to track and note these passages.
If you have your own copy, you can annotate, sticky note, highlight, underline, etc any passages revealing these elements.
Once you've read, you will complete the assignment which has two parts.
Part 1: Close Read Response of 3 passages throughout (beginning, middle, and end) the book
Part 2: Analysis charts of Igbo culture and characterization chart for Okonkwo.
The complete assignment should be done on separate paper or digital document to be printed and turned in by Sept 11, 2026.
We can't wait to meet you in September! So many new memories, learning, and growth to discover. Until then, enjoy the sun!
Ms. Nuttbrock and Ms. Torgesen