These collaborative ideas will help to connect other disciplines with this classic story.
Featured Book
The Bronze Bow, by Elizabeth Speare
Daniel bar Jamin is a zealot who lives for one thing - the over throw of Roman rule. In this Newbery winning book, Speare paints a word picture of life in Galilee, under Roman occupation.
For years Daniel has lived with outlaws, stealing from Roman convoys, merchants who sell to Romans, and local farmers. This is always justified by the dream that they are raising an army to drive out the Romans.
Things change when Daniel's grandmother dies and he is forced to return to his small village to care for his younger sister. Leah suffers from personal demons that keep her house bound. Daniel takes over the blacksmith shop of his friend Simon. Simon is also a zealot, but he has left behind his old life to follow the charismatic preacher, Jesus.
Daniel renews old friendship and forges new ones as he balances his oath to fight the Romans as he cares for his sister. The struggle is not without cost. Eventually, Daniel is forced to deal with his own demons. With the help of Jesus, he is able to begin again.
Activities
- Use a map to identify ancient Israel. Where was it's location within the Roman Empire?
- In one scene Daniel and Thacia are forced to carry the burdens of Romans soldiers. What was the law the soldiers invoked? Discuss how the readers would feel if they were forced, by law, to carry someone else's packages. This can be developed into a creative writing story.
- Take a Webquest. Israel Webquest has activities that follow the plot of the story. It is an excellent way to tie social studies into the book study.
- Discuss the different types of friendships in the story. There are the friendships of Daniel and Joel, Daniel and Samson, Daniel and Simon, Daniel and Jesus. What does it mean to be a friend?
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