The Wars of the Jews from Memoria Press {Curriculum Review}

I have had the chance to work with Memoria Press materials several times over the last five years of reviewing. Their products are always a highlight to what we use, and we have incorporated several of them into our regular curriculum. One area that I have not had much experience in, however, is their high school level material, due to my children still being in elementary and middle school. I was able to explore one of their high school curricula when I was asked if I could look over and review The Wars of the Jews Set. Being that this is a historical event that I’ve had a growing curiosity about, I eagerly agreed to look it over myself. 

About the Product

Memoria Press is an award-winning classical Christian education publisher. They carry a full line of curriculum and supplemental resources for grades preK-12. Not only do they offer full curriculum packages, but they also offer individual subject material as well.  Their material promotes HEAVY reading and discussion as the tried and true method for learning. 

Some of the materials that our group was provided to review this month include:
*Simply Classical Writing Book Two: Step-by-Step Sentences (Bible Story Edition) with Teacher Key *Simply Classical Spelling Book One: Step-by-Step Words *Simply Classical Spelling Book Two: Step-by-Step Words *The Story of the Thirteen Colonies & the Great Republic Set  *200 Questions About American History set *The Wars of the Jews set
We reviewed a collection of other materials earlier in the year as well, which you can check out here. 
I was provided with the Wars of the Jews Set to look through. 
The Wars of the Jews Set is a supplemental history resource intended to be a follow up to a study of scripture and an introduction to the history of Christianity. The text is from the writing of the go-to for all things Jewish history Josephus—the widely accepted best source for information regarding the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD. 
The Wars of the Jews Set includes: *Teacher Guide *Student Guide *War of the Jews Text
This material is geared for grades 9+. You can visit the website to see samples of the materials. 

My Thoughts on This Product

The Wars of the Jews Set is definitely geared for the high school level. The reading level is at a high school level, although this translation makes it much easier to understand. I’m a very quick reader, yet I had to slow down significantly in order to internalize the information—but I have to do that for anything that is non-fiction material. It would be very easy to read something too quickly and then miss the key information needed for completing the assignments.
Each of the chapters of the text is clearly labeled, and the material in the Student Guide coordinates with text chapters. The lessons are set up as follows:
Lesson 1: Book V; Chapter 6 Lesson 2: Book V; Chapters 7 & 8 Lesson 3: Book V; Chapter 9 Lesson 4: Book V; Chapters 10 & 11 Lesson 5: Book V; Chapters 12 & 13 Lesson 6: Book VI; Chapter 1 Lesson 7: Book VI; Chapter 2 Lesson 8: Book VI; Chapters 3 & 4 Lesson 9: Book VI; Chapters 5-7 Lesson 10: Book VI; Chapters 8-10
I would not recommend doing more than one per week, as the material is quite meaty and the workbook portion will take some ample time to complete. There are ten lessons in the book, a review overall 10 lessons, and a final quiz, thus I see this book taking closer to 11-12 weeks to complete realistically depending on how much you work on it during the week. This material would provide HALF a semester of work at the most, thus the perfect pairing with another shorter curriculum. 
The text comes from the larger work written by the historian Josephus, but it has been translated for easier reading. This curriculum uses books 5  (chapters 6-13) and 6 (chapters -10) from his works for the material. There are pages with maps of the temple included, as well as black and white illustrations and photos as they fit. I really appreciated that the font for the text was larger. I have my own copy of the Book of Josephus myself and the font is SOOO small in that. Oy. 

Comprehension questions for the chapter

The material in the student book comes straight from the text. It begins by introducing a few key terms in the reading—some of them are names of places or people from the account. Next comes a quotation. For some lessons, a vocabulary review section comes next, having the student define vocabulary words from the reading. Finally, the lesson contains comprehension and critical thinking questions relating to the reading. Most of these questions can be taken straight from the text.

Quote Matching from Quiz

Also included in the student guide is a review of all ten lessons. The lesson goes over the quotes, the people, events, vocabulary, key events, and even a map of the city. Once this has been completed, the teacher can give the student the final exam. One of the key elements of the final is a map of Jerusalem that asks the children to name key parts of the city AND to draw in other things. The Teacher Guide is simply an answer key to the lesson work, the review, and the final quiz.

At this point, I think that completing this course, a student would have an incredible grasp of the downfall of Jerusalem and the temple, as predicted by Christ in the Bible. So much of the destruction plays a part in Judaism today that it is useful information. It also gives “the rest of the story” after one reads the Bible. 
I would recommend this book for any high student OR ADULT who is looking to take their history studies into an area that isn’t covered outside of Jewish History class. I think it is fascinating history and very useful as a Christian, much less just a historian in general. 

Want to Know More?

I've spent some time looking over The Wars of the Jews Set from Memoria Press. It is a short course to be used as a follow-up to a study of the Bible. I hope that you will explore the other Memoria Press products that the team is reviewing this week!

Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube Instagram

*****