Discovering Our Past: A History of the World

Worksheet Answer Key

The Israelites

Table of Contents

CHAPTER-LEVEL ACTIVITIES:
What Do You Know? Concept Ladder ..................................... 2
Vocabulary Builder Activity................................................... 2
Hands-On Chapter Project: The Israelites............................... 3

LESSON-LEVEL ACTIVITIES:
Guided Reading: Lesson 1 Beginnings.................................... 3
Guided Reading: Lesson 2 The Israelite Kingdom .................... 4
Guided Reading: Lesson 3 The Development of Judaism........... 4
Guided Reading: Lesson 4 The Jews in the Mediterranean
World ......................................................................... 5
Geography and History Activity: Lesson 1
Human-Environment Interaction: The Israelites and
Canaan ....................................................................... 6
21st Century Skills Activity: Lesson 2
Creativity and Innovation: Problem Solving ..................... 6
Primary Source Activity: Lesson 2
The Prophets ............................................................... 7

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Primary Source Activity: Lesson 3
The Hebrew Bible ........................................................ 7
21st Century Skills Activity: Lesson 4
Information Literacy: Sequence and Categorize
Information ................................................................ 7

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Discovering Our Past: A History of the World

Worksheet Answer Key

The Israelites

CHAPTER WORKSHEETS

What Do You Know? Concept Ladder

Students’ answers and predictions will vary. Target answers include:

1. The ancient Israelites were a group of people in Southwest Asia. Unlike other
groups, they worshiped only one god.
2. Early leaders of the ancient Israelites included Abraham, Moses, Saul, David,
Solomon, and Deborah.
3. An exile is a period in which a group is forced to live far away from their home-
land. The Chaldeans captured Jerusalem and sent many Israelites to live in ex-
ile in Babylon.
4. The Hebrew Bible is a collection of rules and laws of the Israelites. It also de-
scribes Jewish history and culture. It includes three main parts: the Torah, the
Prophets, and the Writings.
5. Religion affected most areas of daily life for the Israelites. These included family
roles, education, diet, and clothing.
6. Students should identify valid causes of conflict between groups, such as dis-
putes over territory or beliefs. Over time, Israelites eventually led revolts against
both Greek and Roman rulers.

Vocabulary Builder Activity

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A. Content Vocabulary
1. c
2. k
3. g
4. a
5. h
6. j
7. d
8. f
9. l
10. e
11. i
12. b

B. Academic Vocabulary
1. version
2. community
3. tradition
4. ensure
5. cooperate
6. devote
Discovering Our Past: A History of the World

Worksheet Answer Key

The Israelites
C. Combined Vocabulary Reinforcement
1. devotion, scrolls
2. tribes, community
3. covenant, commandments
4. alphabet, ensure
5. Diaspora, version
6. synagogue, tradition
7. cooperate

Hands-On Chapter Project

The Israelites

Worksheet 1: Project Plan

My leader is: Leaders that students choose to research will vary.
Due Date: The due date will be decided by the instructor.

Worksheet 2: Project Plan

Students’ notes on their chosen leader will vary.

Worksheet 3: Creating a Bibliography

Sources will vary but should be formatted correctly.

Worksheet 4: Assessment Rubric

Students’ self-assessment will be based on their opinions about their performance

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during the project.

LESSON WORKSHEETS

Guided Reading: Lesson 1 Beginnings

Beginnings
1. The Israelites descended from Abraham according to Jewish belief; God told
Abraham to settle in Canaan, which would belong to his ancestors forever.
2. Abraham’s son; Isaac became the head of the family following his father’s death.
3. Abraham’s grandson; Jacob’s 12 sons became the leaders of the Twelve Tribes
of Israel.
4. Moses led the Israelites in their Exodus from Egypt; he received a covenant from
God on this journey.
5. The Israelites believed in a single, all-powerful, just, and personal God. They be-
lieved that God created and ruled the world and expected goodness from his
people.
6. Israelites believed that God sent prophets to share his teachings.
7. The Israelites believed that people could connect to God through praying and
religious studying and by carrying out good and just acts.

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Worksheet Answer Key

The Israelites
8. The Ten Commandments helped guide the morals and laws of many future na-
tions. These commandments encouraged social justice and a sense of commu-
nity. They also included the democratic idea of equality under the law.

The Land of Canaan

9-11. They were skilled sailors and traders who settled along the Mediterranean
Sea. As their trade expanded, the Phoenicians built settlements and spread
ideas throughout the Mediterranean world. The Phoenician alphabet was an im-
portant contribution to written language.
12-14. They migrated to Canaan from near present-day Greece. They built walled
towns in southern Canaan and formed a strong army. They maintained their own
culture, but they also accepted ideas from other groups in Canaan.
15. The land in Canaan was rocky and dry. The climate featured a rainy season and
a dry season. As a result, the Israelites collected and stored water during the
rainy season. Most Israelites worked at agriculture. They used the water they
stored to irrigate their crops during the dry season. The Israelites also built
homes of mud-brick or stone on the rocky landscape.

Guided Reading: Lesson 2 The Israelite Kingdom

Early Kings
1. False - Under the leadership of Saul, the Israelites won battles against the Philis-
tines.
2. False - Today Saul is remembered as the one who disobeyed god.
3. True

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4. False - The Israelites enjoyed prosperity during David’s rule.
5. True

Two Kingdoms
6. ten northern tribes
7. two southern tribes
8. Samaria
9. Jerusalem
10. Assyrians
11. Chaldeans
12. The Israelite kingdoms were small and weak compared to the neighboring Assyr-
ians and Chaldeans, both of which were powerful empires.
13. When Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, he forced thousands of Judah’s
people to live in exile in Babylon.

Guided Reading: Lesson 3 The Development of Judaism

Return to Judah
1. Jews began meeting in synagogues for worship.
2. The Persians defeated the Chaldeans and took over Babylon.
3. Jews relied on priests and scribes to guide their society.

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The Israelites
4. The Hebrew Bible is made up of the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings. It
includes 24 books assembled over a long period of time. It explains the Israel-
ites’ laws and rules. It also describes the culture and history of the Jewish peo-
ple.
5. The story of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible explains the belief that God would res-
cue the Jews from evil and suffering. God’s protection of Daniel from the lions
reflects the Jews’ hope for a better world in which good defeats evil.

Jewish Daily Life

6-8. Family life was very important to ancient Israelites. It led to specific roles for fa-
thers and mothers. Education was considered very important; however, sons
and daughters were educated differently.
9-11. They could eat beef and lamb, but not pork. Meat had to be kosher, killed and
prepared in a specific way. Meat and dairy could not be eaten together. There
were laws against eating shellfish.

Guided Reading: Lesson 4 The Jews in the

Mediterranean World
The Arrival of Greek Rule
1. Alexander the Great defeats the Persians.
2. The Diaspora spreads throughout the Greek empire.
3. The Seleucid kings gain control of Judah.
4. Antiochus IV requires the Jews to worship Greek gods and goddesses.

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5. The Maccabees revolt and reclaim Judah.
6. The festival of Hanukkah celebrates the Maccabees driving the Seleucids out of
Judah and cleansing the temple of Greek gods and goddesses.

Roman Rule in Judaea

7-14. Pharisees—wanted Judaea free of Roman rule; urged Jews to resist through
greater devotion to the Torah;
Sadducees—favored cooperation with the Romans;
Essenes—lived in the desert where they prayed and waited for God to deliver
Jews from Roman rule;
Zealots—led a revolt against the Roman army
15. Ben Zaccai persuaded Roman forces to spare the city of Yavneh, where he es-
tablished a school for teaching the Torah. This school became a center for study
of the Torah and served as a model for other religious schools. Ben Zaccai’s ef-
forts helped preserve important beliefs of Judaism, some of which were later re-
corded in the Talmud.

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Worksheet Answer Key

The Israelites

Geography and History Activity: Lesson 1

Human-Environment Interaction: The Israelites and
Canaan
1. Large bodies of water, such as the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea are
located far away from central Canaan. This area also has few rivers running
through it.
2. Cause: Many Israelites farmed in central Canaan, a rocky, dry area. → Effect:
Farmers collected rainwater during the rainy season.
Cause: Farmers stored the water they collected in underground caves. →
Effect: Farmers in the region used their stored water to raise crops such as ol-
ives, grapes, and wheat.
3. The land in central Canaan was dry and rocky. The area also had little water
available to use in raising crops.
4. Walls were made of stone. Floors were made of clay. The roof was made of
thatch.
5. The environment in central Canaan was not ideal for farming. If the Israelites had
not adapted to it by storing rainwater, they would not have been able to grow the
crops that they did.
6. These materials were probably the easiest to find in the rocky, dry landscape. It
would have been more difficult to build homes using only wood, which would
have been harder to find. Also, the materials they used may have been better
able to withstand the conditions and protect the people living there from the
harsh environment.

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7. Answers will vary, but students should describe scenarios in which a person or
group has adapted their way of life to the geographic conditions in your area,
such as using irrigation for farming or wind or solar power for energy.

21st Century Skills Activity: Lesson 2

Creativity and Innovation: Problem Solving
1. David faced two problems: Saul’s plot to kill him and living in the desert frontier
of Judah.
2. Answers will vary, but students should identify a plausible alternative solution.
For instance, they might suggest that David could have stayed and confronted
Saul directly.
3. Students’ answers may vary. One possible answer would be that David’s solu-
tion was successful because it kept him safe from Saul’s threats. It also helped
him remain popular and eventually become king.

Applying the Skill

Students’ paragraphs should fully explain both the problems they selected and their
proposed solutions. Students should describe how they used the problem-
solving steps to arrive at their solutions. They should also mention at least one
potential benefit and drawback of their selected solutions.
Discovering Our Past: A History of the World

Worksheet Answer Key

The Israelites

Primary Source Activity: Lesson 2

The Prophets

1. The writing from Amos suggests that those who break God’s laws will be pun-
ished.
2. This passage from Amos predicts that good will triumph over evil in Israelite soci-
ety. The passage suggests that when this happens, God will restore both Judah
and the temple to their former glory.
3. In the passage from Jeremiah, God promises to send a new Israelite king to
bring judgment and justice to the world.
4. Answers will vary, but students might suggest that the tone of the writing from
Jeremiah is faithful, confident, or triumphant.
5. Both of these passages focus on the righteousness and justice of Judah being
restored.

Primary Source Activity: Lesson 3

The Hebrew Bible
1. The writer describes how God created the Earth in six days and rested on the
seventh day.
2. This passage might relate to the tradition of gathering to observe the Sabbath.
According to the passage, God rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath is sup-
posed to be a day of rest and worship.

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3. In Reading 2, David prepares to die, and he offers Solomon advice.
4. Daniel says he remained safe because he believed in God, and God had pro-
tected him.
5. Similar: They all provide information about the history and beliefs of the Israel-
ites. The Israelites could use each of them as a lesson about how to live their
lives.
Different: These passages have different authors. They were written about dif-
ferent events from different time periods.

21st Century Skills Activity: Lesson 4

Information Literacy: Sequence and Categorize
Information
Practicing the Skill
Time line “Jews in the Mediterranean World”: Students’ time lines should correctly
use five of the events provided with all dates and events accurately labeled.
1. Students’ responses should match the time lines they created.
2. Students’ responses should reflect the benchmark dates they placed to divide
their time lines into sections.
3. Students should use their time lines to correctly calculate the number of years

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The Israelites
that passed between these events.

Applying the Skill

Students should locate reliable information about the lives of the historical figure
they selected for their time lines. Based on the events and dates they select, stu-
dents should choose logical formats and divisions for their time lines. Check to
make sure that students have correctly placed and labeled the biographical
events on their time lines and provided captions for each event.

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