E-Roots - Extra Research Options and On-Line Tasks for Students

 

 

Roots Homework Help If you need help with your written homework or journals, go to these pages: Chapters One - Four My Name A Tale with a Moral Survival in the Jungle Story Chapters Five - Twelve   Chapters Thirteen - End   Chapter 22: A Letter Explaining a High School Graduation A Letter to Mr. Slater (following the video)   Lifeline - Rites of Passage in My Culture Resources: Modern American/U.S. Lifeline Resources: Mexican Traditional Lifeline Resources: Chinese Traditional Lifeline Resources: Guatemalan Traditional Lifeline Resources: El Salvadoran Lifeline Resources: Medieval Muslim Lifeline Resources: Kunta Kinte's Village Lifeline Resources: Lao-Mien Traditional Lifeline

Roots Extra Credit Activities

Answer these challenges on a piece of paper. Turn them in for extra credit!

Part One: Introduction and Chapters One - Three

I. Background on Alex Haley, author of Roots.

1. What was Alex Haley's ethnicity?

2. What were Alex Haley's first jobs and when did he start writing?

3. What other books did Alex Haley write? What is each one about?

4. How did he first hear about his ancestor, the African?

5. How long did it take him to write the book Roots?

6. When was Alex Haley born and when did he die? (See the top of the page.)

For a very short profile, see Alex Haley [Who 2 Profile] and another at Alex Haley: Biography Resource Center . Read another biography of Alex Haley by the Museum of Broadcast Communications which has his picture.

 

A controversy - there were charges of plagiarism (copying from another author) and authenticity (using facts correctly) leveled at Roots by the author of The Africans, Harold Courtlander, who was subsequently (later, as a result) paid $650,000 in an out-of-court settlement. Did Alex Haley get some of his information from The Africans? We have the book in our collection. Read it and see if there is any relationship between the two.

II. Chapter One: Where is the Gambia? Where is the village of Juffure?

 

1. What country surrounds Gambia? (Look at the map, below.)
2. What is the present population of Gambia? (Or go to the CIA Handbook)
3. Which religion do most the people follow?
4. What is the area of the Gambia?
5. Which months are the rainy season in the Gambia?
6. Look at the Gambia index (in the CIA Handbook) to find this: What is the average life expectancy for men and for women in the Gambia?
7. Economy: What are the Gambia's natural resources?
8. Rich or poor? What is the GDP - per capita (the Gross Domestic Product - divided by the number of people)? This roughly means what is the average income of a person each year?
9. Look at Land Use. About what percent of the land in the Gambia is arable (can be used for farming)? What percent is covered by forests?
10. What is the official language of the Gambia?

    Learn more about the Republic of the Gambia, the geographical features, climate, economy, and more.

In Roots, it says that Juffure is four days upriver from the coast of the Gambia, West Africa by canoe.

III. More images of the West Africa and the Mandinka people

Photo of modern woman of Mali pounding grain with baby on back. Courtesy MANSA Photo by David Conrad, Kabaya, Mali 1976

1. The woman is using a mortar (container) and pestle (pounder). What will happen to the grain in the mortar?

2. From Haley's description of work in the village, who do you think does the most: men or women?

3. Notice the round thatched huts. These are like the houses described in Roots. Do all members of the family live in the same round hut?

4. Make a sketch of the woman or of huts from pictures. Here are some site which show more traditional housing

Answers: Answer #1: It will become a flour. The flour will be added to boiling water to make a porridge. It would be served in a calabash (a gourd used as a bowl). Answer # 3: The answer is from chapter One. No. The husband had his own hut.

IV. Chapter One: Do you want to know the origin and meaning of your name? Try these sites!

• The Meaning of Baby Names (includes origins by continent)
• Or Baby Name Locator [It has a good search engine to find your name's meaning and origin!]
• Common Spanish Female Names and a long list of Spanish female names (The long list takes a long time to download).
• Common Spanish Male Names and a long list of Spanish male names (The long list takes a long time to download).
• Vietnamese Female Names and Vietnamese Male Names
• Chinese Female Names and Chinese Male Names

 

V. Chapter Two: Farming Roles for Men - Couscous, Cotton, and Groundnuts

Try this recipe for couscous and groundnut sauce:

• Get a box of instant couscous from any supermarket or large grocery store, probably in the Middle Eastern foods section. Follow the easy directions for cooking. It is somewhat similar to rice, but it's really wheat!
• Grind up about a 1/2 cup of raw or roasted peanuts (shelled, of course) in a food processor with about a tablespoon of water, or simple use chunky peanut butter. (You will need about 1/2 a cup of peanut butter with a little water to soften it.) Put this peanut mixture in a small sauce pan and heat while you stir in about two tablespoons water. Continue heating and adding water until you have a creamy sauce. Pour this over the couscous. [Most recipes would also have some vegetables or chicken, but try this first.]
• For a peanut chicken stew served over couscous or rice, try this recipe. For lamb and vegetable stew over couscous, try this recipe (and see the photograph).

What is a groundnut? It is called one of the most nutritional foods in the world. Learn more about it!

1. What is the origin of the groundnut? (Where was it first found and cultivated?)
2. What is its nutritional value and medicinal value?
3. Is the peanut really a "nut"?
4. Why is African-American scientist George Washington Carver so famous? [Learn even more about George Washington Carver here. And here is a short biography and photo of George Washington Carver.]

 

This is Roots, Part One: Introduction and Chapters One - Three Go to Roots, Part Two: Chapters Four to Ten Go to Roots, Part Three: Chapters Eleven - Twenty Go to Roots, Part Four: Chapters Twenty-One - Go to Roots, Part Five: Conclusions, T.V. Miniseries, and Find Your Own Roots!