Tina Robertson

I have a few Ancient Israel fun activities middle school if you’re learning about Ancient Civilizations. For more ideas look on my page Ancient Civilizations. Also, look at my page Hands-On Simple And Best Homeschool Geography Ideas & Tips for more fun hands-on geography.

And I created one and then rounded up whatever else I could locate to create a fun unit.

There is just nothing like a hands-on project to help your child dig deeper and understand better whatever topic they’re learning about.

Today we are going to make a topographic relief map of Israel, using a somewhat unusual art medium, beans.

Using different colors and shapes and sizes of beans helps differentiate the different areas of this Middle Eastern land.

From the Mediterranean sea to the mountains in the coast of Blaine, we are outlining the major topographical differences of Israel.

Ancient Israel was a small country in the Middle East that existed from about 1200 BC to 586 BC.

It was home to the Israelites, a people who believed in one God.

The Israelites were originally nomads, but they eventually settled down in the land of Canaan.

They built a kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital.

The Israelites had many kings, including King David and King Solomon.

David was a great warrior who defeated the Philistines, a powerful enemy.

 Solomon was a wise king who built the first temple in Jerusalem.

The Israelites were conquered by the Babylonians in 586 BC.

The Temple was destroyed, and many of the Israelites were taken into exile.

After 70 years, the Israelites were allowed to return to their homeland. They rebuilt the Temple and re-established their kingdom.

The Israelites were later conquered by the Romans in 70 AD. The Temple was destroyed again, and many Israelites were killed.

Despite these setbacks, the Israelites have survived as a people.

BOOKS ABOUT ISRAEL FOR KIDS

Next, look at some of these books to add to your unit study.

They continue to practice their religion and celebrate their culture.

Jump into learning more about the ancient and modern-day people of Israel with these activities including our topography map tutorial.

6 ANCIENT ISRAEL FUN ACTIVITIES MIDDLE SCHOOL

1. Encourage your middle school kids to engineer a model of Masada with this STEM Challenge while Studying Ancient Israel.
2. History of Ancient Israel and Judah explained in 5 minutes
3. History Unboxed offers a subscription box but you can also purchase individual boxes like this one for Ancient Israelites Unboxed. It can be specified for youth or young adult and includes everything you need to make a rams horn trumpet, try an ancient treat of real honeycomb, and what you need to make and use your own oil lamp.
4. I originally did this with younger kids but I think it has great benefits for middle school too- Hands-on Ancient Egypt: Israelite Mud Bricks for Kids.
5. Try a dish that the ancient Israelites would have enjoyed like this Jacob’s Lentil Stew, by this time you know how wonderful cooking is as part of the learning experience.
6. Learn to read Hebrew in just 6 weeks with illustrations, memory tricks, and 12 lessons to have you on the road to learning this ancient language.

Finally, look at how to make this topography map of Israel.

HOW TO MAKE A TOPOGRAPHY MAP OF ISRAEL

You will need:

• Heavyweight cardboard/cardstock.
• Tacky glue
• An assortment of dried beans
• Sharpened pencils

The first thing we’re going to do is print off a simple topographical map of Israel, like the one I found here at Geography Realm Map of Israel.

We printed a simple map outline and then referenced topographic maps to fill in each section.

Next, you are going to flip over your printed map and lay your pencils sideways, almost flat and rubbing lead by scribbling all over.

You want a good thick coat that covers all the map parts you want to trace.

Now you’re going to take a piece of cardboard or cardstock and slip it behind your map print out.

Take a pencil and trace the outline of your map of Israel onto the blank piece of paper.

This will transfer the lead that you scribbled on the back to the new page.

Lift slightly and be sure that it has been traced everywhere before you completely move it.

This will give you your basic outline.

First decide which beans will represent which topographical feature and create a little key in the bottom corner by gluing the bean and writing what it represents.

You can also use one type to mark the capital.

To create the blue for water you can toss white navy beans into a ziploc bag with food coloring or liquid watercolor and then allow to dry.

Now take your school or tacky glue, and “paint” the section that you want to start with. You have a little bit of working time but I do not recommend painting the entire map yet.

Press the correct beans into the thick glue until you have covered the entire area you need to then move onto the next section.

Repeat until the map is fully covered; to seal the map you can brush a layer of glue over the top of the beans if you like.