Library Quest
Mediterranean Civilizations
Chapter 2 Section 4
7th Grade Social Studies
Objectives: Students will gain an understanding of how the sea power of the Phoenicians helped spread civilization throughout the Mediterranean area. Students will learn about the major events in the history of the Israelites.
Background Story
While walking along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea looking for shells, John stumbled upon a snail that was a beautiful purple color. John picked the snail up and put it in his pocket. Then he found another, then another, and another. Each snail he put in his pocket. John was so excited about what he had discovered. He ran home as fast as he could. John’s home was in the city of Tyre (tyr). Tyre was a city in a region know as Phoenicia (fuh NISH uh). Upon arriving home John showed his mother his snails immediately. As he reached in his pocket he noticed that his clothing was no longer white. It was now purple. His mother wanted to yell at John, but she loved the color of John’s newly stained clothes. One idea led to another and soon John and his mother were staining clothes purple for the well to do in their society. Soon others in the region caught on to their money making enterprise and the city of Tyre became one of the wealthiest cities in Phoenicia.
Tasks
Pretend that you have been helping John and his mother dye cloth with the purple murex snail and now want to start a purple dying business of your own. Use the attached “Business Plan” form to help you plan your business.
Nearly every business need some form of advertisement to sell its product. Your business is no different. You need to get your businesses noticed and you need to tell your customer base why they should buy your product instead of John’s product. Using the Phoenician Alphabet design and create a sale flyer for your high quality purple cloth.
Any good salesman understands that you must know who your target customer like the back of your hand to close the deal. Your chance to make it big has just arrived. A small band of people have just settled in the hills around the Jordan River valley. They were called Hebrews, but now many are calling them Israelites. They aren’t the wealthiest of people, but if you can sell to the Israelites you can sell to anyone. Look…. over by that group of people. That is Abraham. He is a leader of the Israelites. If you can sell Abraham your purple clothing then all of his followers will want your product. Anything worth doing is worth doing correctly. Before you sell to Abraham you had better read up on the history of Abraham and about the famine of Canaan, which caused the Israelites to flee south to Egypt. You had better know about Abraham’s friend Moses also. You might be able to sell to him too. I heard he led the Israelites out of Egypt. They called this the Exodus. It would probably be a good idea to read about King Solomon and how Israel and Judah formed. Like I said if you want to make the sale you have to do your research. Use the attached graphic organizer to consolidate your research.
Please use the below websites and resources available to you in the library to aid in your research for this task.
Snail information:
Phoenician Sea Power
The Phoenician Alphabet
The Rise of the Israelites
Business Plan
Name of Company: ______
What is your business motto? ______
Describe your product: ______
Who will you sell your product to/Who will you trade with?: ______
What trade route(s) will you use?: ______
What will you need to trade your product? (ex. Ship, camels, employees, donkeys?) ______
What will you need to charge for your product to make a profit? ______
What permits do you need to sell in the region of Phoenicia? ______
Are there any taxes associated with starting a new business? ______
Research Notes:
What is the name of the snail that produces a purple dye that was used by the Phoenicians to dye cloth?
Tyre was a wealthy city on the shores of the ______Sea?
Name two natural resources used by the Phoenicians to get rich.
1.
2.
Name two waterways the Phoenicians sailed on their trade routes.
1.
2.
How did the sea power of the Phoenicians help spread civilization?
People could go to ______, to buy goods brought back from lands around the Mediterranean Sea.
How many symbols did the Phoenician alphabet use?
What is the historical importance of the Phoenician Alphabet?
What were the Israelites first called?
Provide one fact about Abraham the leader of the Israelites.
Define famine.
Describe how Moses led his people out of Egypt and what was this event called?
What happened after King Solomon’s death?
Define exile.