Joshua through Malachi & Ancient Greece Links and Tips

The Links and Tips below are related to our book Joshua through Malachi & Ancient Greece. This study combines all your students, grades 1–12, for a full year of Bible, history, and geography. Be sure to check back here from time to time because we will be adding new and updated resources related to the book as we get them. If you have some resources that you’d like to recommend, let us know!

Complete Year’s Book List

See the complete list of books recommended in this study by grade level and with recommendations for where to find each book.

Timeline of Kings of Judah and Israel

Alicia H. found these charts that detail the chronology of the kings of Judah and Israel:

• The Genealogy of the Kings of Ancient Israel and Judah
• Complete Bible Genealogy of the Kings of Judah and Israel

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Here’s a summary with more links to each Wonder, along with a chart of when each was built and what has happened to it.

Correction

The Book of Centuries entry on page 87 says Joash was a king of Israel; he was a king of Judah.

Optional Hands-On Projects

Here are some ideas for hands-on projects that you can use during your study of Ancient Greece.

Salt Dough Map

Recipe for Salt Dough

Use 1 part salt to 2 parts flour. Usually 2 cups flour and 1 cup salt works well to make a decent-sized map.

Add water a tablespoon at a time until the dough takes on a stiff consistency like cookie dough. Shape and let dry.

Step-by-Step Instructions

This project will take several days to complete. A tentative schedule might look like this.

1. Make the salt dough and shape it into a map of Israel, trying to include the mountain ranges, elevation changes, rivers, lakes, etc. This relief map of Israel may be helpful. You can determine just how detailed you want to be. Once the salt dough map is shaped, set it aside and let it dry.
2. Make sure your salt dough map is dry. Then use poster paint to paint all the water parts blue. Depending on the scale of your salt dough map, you may need a very fine brush to paint the Jordan River.
3. Once the blue paint is dry, you can paint the land portions of the map. You probably don’t need to paint all the sand; the salt dough is pretty close to the right color. But you may want to paint the more fertile areas a nice green color.
4. Once your map is completely dry, you can label the different regions and water areas if desired. A fine-tip felt marker works well for labeling. If you don’t want to label your map, skip this step. Keep your map accessible while you complete your study of the Old Testament.

   Storage: An easy way to store your salt dough map is to ask a local pizza shop for a clean pizza box. Build the map on the flat cardboard bottom inside the pizza box. When the map is complete, just close the lid and your salt dough map is protected and stackable on a shelf. You can even label the box.

Make a Water Clock

The Athenians used a water clock to limit the presentation time of a speaker. The speaker had to finish his presentation before all the water ran from one jar to the other.

To make a water clock, simply get two cans or bottles of the same size. Make a small opening near the bottom of one of them. Arrange the cans or bottles so the one with the hole is above the other. For example, place them on two separate steps, or place one on the counter beside the sink and the other one in the sink.

Put water in the top container and align it so the water will flow out of the hole and into the bottom container. If desired, use a clock or stopwatch to determine how high the water level should be for a specific time limit. Then fill the top container to the desired height and allow your “speaker” to present his speech in the allotted time.

Corresponding Maps in Deluxe Then and Now Bible Maps

If you have the Deluxe Then and Now Bible Maps edition, the map numbers will be different from those listed in the lesson plans using Then and Now Bible Maps. The list below should help you find the corresponding maps in the Deluxe version.

Note: Map 12, Judges and Prophets of Israel, in Deluxe Then and Now Bible Maps already has the judges’ locations mapped if you would prefer to use that map instead of the sticky note activity described in lessons 17 and following.

Links Related to the Older First Edition of Lesson Plans

Oxford First Ancient History book

Unfortunately, the Oxford First Ancient History book has gone out of print. If you are having trouble finding a used copy, we would recommend replacing those readings with two books: The Parthenon by Elizabeth Mann and A Young Macedonian in the Army of Alexander the Great by Alfred Church. Read The Parthenon in lessons 6 and 7, half in each, and two chapters of A Young Macedonian in each history lesson from 105 to 175, excluding Exam weeks.

Correction

In the first edition, a sidebar comment on page 105 says that the Jews rebuilt the Temple “under Ezra (537 BC).” Actually, Ezra was not a part of the first wave of exiles who returned to Judah/Jerusalem in circa 538 BC. That Temple building project was spearheaded by Zerubbabel and Joshua (Jeshua) with the backing of Cyrus’ decree beginning in circa 536 BC. Ezra led the second major wave of return which happened circa 457 BC (so after the events of Esther and before Nehemiah). It is easy to get a bit thrown off when it comes to Ezra because the book that bears his name begins with the first wave which preceded him. It is not until chapter 7 that Ezra’s return enters the historical narrative. (This Book of Centuries entry has been corrected in the second edition.)

Chapter Part Divisions for Famous Men of Greece

It has come to our attention that some editions of Famous Men of Greece do not have their chapters divided into the Parts that are specified in the lesson plans of the Joshua through Malachi & Ancient Greece handbook. So we are providing this detail for you below. The chapters not listed are read in their entirety.

Under each chapter listed, you will find the first phrase and last sentence for the different parts, so you will know where each one begins and ends. It might be easiest if you grab a pencil and your copy of Famous Men of Greece now, go through each chapter, and make a light mark where the different parts divide.

Chapter IV—Hercules and His Labors (lessons 5, 10, 15)

• Part 1: “Greatest of all the heroes of Greece was Heracles” through “He dug a great ditch as far as the stables and turned into it the waters of two swift rivers.”
• Parts 2 and 3: “As soon as this was done” through “This ended the power of Eurystheus over the hero.”
• Parts 4 and 5: “Hercules had a friend named Admetus” through “There Zeus made him one of the gods and gave him the beautiful goddess Hebe for a wife.”

Chapter V—Jason and the Golden Fleece (lessons 20 and 25)

• Part 1: “In a city of Greece name Iolcus” through “He was kept on watch all through the Argo’s voyage, because he could see a whole day’s trip ahead.”
• Part 2: “After many adventures” through “After Pelias was killed, one of his sons drove Jason and Medea from Iolchus.”

Chapter IX—The Adventures of Odysseus (lessons 45, 50, 55)

• Part 1: “Odysseus (Roman name: Ulysses), king of the island of Ithaca” through “I am Odysseus, Ithaca’s king.”
• Part 2: “The next land they reached” through “Then the men took the wax from their ears and loosed the cords that bound their chief.”
• Part 3: “After passing the Sirens’ Isle” through “Odysseus’ delight at finding that she still loved him made all his weary wanderings seem like a dream.”

Chapter XXV—Alexander the Great (lessons 145 and 150)

• Part 1: “Alexander, the son of Philip of Macedonia and Olympias” through “Six thousand of the inhabitants were put to death; a few escaped by flight and the rest were sold as slaves.”
• Parts 2 and 3: “Alexander now began to prepare for the great expedition against Persia” through “His victories had been won and his conquests had been made in the short space of twelve years.”