Literature Connections

Theme Questions

Extensions/ Activities

What were the points of view of the real and fictional characters? Where did these points of view clash?

Score CyberGuide on the Bronze Bow
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/BRONZE/bronzetg.htm
This supplemental unit by Denise Hogan provides resources for students in 6th grade to focus on the political and physical setting of the book, analysis of the character Marcus who is the very human representation of the Roman Empire, the theme of forgiveness, the issue of interpretation of who Jesus really is.

Students write an expository essay about the time based on interviews of people of that time. As reporters, they contribute to a newspaper or video.

6th Grade Language Arts Content Standards
2.0 Reading Comprehension
Comprehension and Analysis of Grade-Level-Appropriate Text
2.3 Connect and clarify main ideas by identifying their relationships to other sources and related topics.

1.0 Writing Strategies
Organization and Focus
1.1 Choose the form of writing (e.g., personal letter, letter to the editor, review, poem, report, narrative) that best suits the intended purpose.
1.2 Create multiple-paragraph expository compositions:
a. Engage the interest of the reader and state a clear purpose.
b. Develop the topic with supporting details and precise verbs, nouns, and adjectives to paint a visual image in the mind of the reader.
c. Conclude with a detailed summary linked to the purpose of the composition.

Theme Questions

Extensions/ Activities

What was the historical and political climate of the time which led to political and social problems?

How can one fight social injustice?

Israel WebQuest Student Page on the Bronze Bow
http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/lewis/israel/
This WebQuest by Sally McArdle provides lessons and activities on Israel and the Roman Empire. There are lessons and links for Language Arts, but the History links and questions offer good prompts for historical investigations and activities. The culminating project "Fight for Justice" provides students links and questions on 5 historical activists.

Map of the Roman Empire
http://www.dalton.org/groups/Rome/RMap.html
This site provides a clickable map to provinces and information about the Roman Empire.

Students recreate the map of Ancient Israel and plot events that take place in the book.

Students take on the role of a famous activitis and write in the first person about their role in fighting injustices, then they are in a panel discussion about their fights against social injustices.

6th Grade History/Social Science
6.3 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Ancient Hebrews.
4. Discuss the locations of the settlements and movements of Hebrew peoples, including the Exodus and their movement to and from Egypt, and outline the significance of the Exodus to the Jewish and other people.
5. Discuss how Judaism survived and developed despite the continuing dispersion of much of the Jewish population from Jerusalem and the rest of Israel after the destruction of the second Temple in A.D. 70.

6.7 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures during the development of Rome.
5. Trace the migration of Jews around the Mediterranean region and the effects of their conflict with the Romans, including the Romans' restrictions on their right to live in Jerusalem.
6. Note the origins of Christianity in the Jewish Messianic prophecies, the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as described in the New Testament, and the contribution of St. Paul the Apostle to the definition and spread of Christian beliefs (e.g., belief in the Trinity, resurrection, salvation).