As the 6th grade students studied the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, they noticed that these empires extended into the Land of Israel. Using the textbook and a Tanach, the students learned Jewish History from a new angle as they studied the experiences of the Jewish people under the rule of the Assyrians and the Babylonians. It was a terrible time in Jewish history. The Assyrians destroyed the Kingdom of Israel and formed an unsuccessful siege around Jerusalem, and the Babylonians destroyed the Beit Hamikdash and the Kingdom of Judah. In order to experience how artifacts help us understand history, each student studied one of five artifacts from this time period: the Lachish Relief, Chizkiyahu's Tunnels, Sennacherib's Annals, the House of Ahiel, and clay bullae. The students researched the artifacts using historical articles as well as pesukim in Tanach. Once the research was complete, each student wrote a small informative piece which will appear next to the artifact in our "Bayit Rishon Museum." The students are currently busy creating their artifacts. The artifacts are absolutely stunning already.
