Akata Witch

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What is “albinism”? What are the symptoms and causes of this condition?

Teaching Suggestion: Even students who know what albinism is may be confused by the term, as many may have only heard the term “albino.” You might explain that some people in the albinism community find the term “albino” offensive and that, in a classroom, it is more polite to use the terms “albinism” and “person with albinism.” The resources below will be helpful in filling in any gaps in students’ knowledge about this condition.

• This overview of symptoms and causes of albinism comes from the Mayo Clinic.
• This 9-minute video by a woman with albinism discusses both the science of this condition and what it is like to live with albinism.

2. Where is Nigeria? What traits or characteristics are associated with the cultures of the people that make up its population?

Teaching Suggestion: Depending on your classroom context, some students may not know much at all about Nigeria. This question is intended to activate any prior knowledge students may have about Western Africa and Nigeria before they learn more specific information about the Igbo, the people that Sunny is descended from. Once students have recalled what they do know about West Africa and Nigeria, you might offer them these or similar resources specific to the Igbo:

• This 7-minute video from HomeTeam History discusses the history of the Igbo.
• This overview from the University of California, Riverside presents Igbo history, the Igbo’s current position in Nigerian society, and reasons for the Igbo diaspora.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the novel.

In Akata Witch, the main character learns that she has special abilities and joins a secret society for people with these abilities. What other stories have similar plots? Why do you think stories like this are so popular?

Teaching Suggestion: This prompt’s description of the plot of Akata Witch is deliberately vague so as not to spoil the beginning of the book for students. If your students have a hard time generating titles of similar stories from such a vague description, you might prompt them by telling them that this kind of plot is similar to the Harry Potter story, in which Harry discovers his special ability—magic—and joins the secret society of Hogwarts and the magical world. You might let them know that there is no “correct” answer to the question of why stories like this are popular. The question is asking them to connect this story genre to what they know about human beings in general.