BackgroundInformation
Thereare76itemsintheexhibitarrangedsomewhatchronologically.Theseitemstellthestory
ofhowtheBiblewascomposedandpreservedthroughouthistory.Becausemorecopiesofthe
Biblesurvivethananyotherbook,itbecomesatemplateforthedevelopmentofwritingand
bookmaking.Thislessonplanselectsafewitemsfromtheexhibitthatshowearlyexamplesof
writingculminatingwiththeprintingpress.
TargetAudience:Kindergartenthrough4thgrade
ExhibitItems:
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CuneiformTablet(Item4)
Papyrus52(Item19)
TorahScroll
MedievalBook
GutenbergBible(reproduction)(Item43)
LeaffromaGutenbergBible(Item44)
ExamplesofAncientWritings
Objectives
• Tolearnaboutthedevelopmentofwriting
• Toappreciatehowthingsweredoneinthepast
• Toappreciatemoderndevelopments
• Tolearnbyobservation
HistoricalOverview
Thestudentswilllookatdifferentexamplesofwritingovertheages.
Cuneiform:Theywillbeginbylookingatacuneiformtabletdatingto2000BC.Thetabletis
clay.Thewritingiswithascriptcalledcuneiformwhichmeanswedgedshapedsymbols.
Impressionsweremadewithareedstylusonsoftclay.Over500,000cuneiformtabletshave
survivedtellingusallsortsofthingsaboutlifeinancienttimes.Studentswillhavean
opportunitytotrytowriteonclaywithastylus.Olderstudentscanuseacharttowritetheir
nameincuneiform.
Papyrus:Nextstudentswilllookatanancienttextwrittenonpapyrus.Theywilllearnabout
howpapyruswasmadeandgetanopportunitytotouchandfeelsomemodernpapyri.Wewill
brieflydiscussalloftheimportanttextsthatsurviveonpapyrusthattellusallsortsofthings
abouttheancientworld.
TorahScroll:Nextthestudentswillseeanancientscrollandwilllearnhowitwasmade.The
studentswillhavetheopportunitytotouchandfeelthescroll.Theywillseethedifficultyof
readingfromascrollandtheimportanceoftheinventionofthebook.
MedievalBook:ThestudentswillthenseeaMedievalbook.Theycanobserveitsfinevellum
pagesandsmallwriting.Theywilllearnabouttheoccupationofascribeandthehardworkand
expensethatwasentailedhandcopyingbooks.Finally,theywillseehowabookwasmadeand
howdifficulttheprocesswas.
Allofthisculminateswiththeinventionoftheprintingpress.
GutenbergBible
Objectives:
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Understandtheimportanceoftheprintingpress
Understandhowtheprintingpressworked
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Understandhowfarbookmakinghasprogressed,fromancienttimestotheprinting
press
HistoricalOverview:
Booksandtextsinotherformsusedtobewrittenbyhand.Ascribe,whowassomeonetrained
tocopytexts,wouldcopyabookletterbyletter.ThisishowcopiesoftheBibleweremadefor
manyyears.Thiswasalongandexpensiveprocess,sonotmanypeoplewereabletoownor
readbooks.
In1455though,aGermanmannamedJohannesGutenberginventedaprintingpress,which
usedseparatelettersarrangedinaplate.Inkwassmearedontheseletters,thenasheetof
paperlaidontopandpresseddownsotheinkwouldtransfertothepaper.Thepressallowed
bookstobemadeinlargenumbers,whichmadebookslessexpensiveandmorecommon.
Moreandmorepeoplelearnedhowtoread,inwhatiscalledthe“PrintingRevolution,”and
morewidespreadeducationthaneverbefore.ThisledtotheRenaissance,or“rebirth,”of
Europe,andthemodernperiodofhumanhistory.ManypeoplethinkGutenbergwasoneofthe
greatestinventorsinhistory.SimilarmethodsofprintingwereinventedinAsiabefore
Gutenberginventedhispress,buttheyweremorebasicanddidnotspreadtoEurope.Intime,
Gutenberg’spressspreadthroughouttheworld.
ThefirstbookprintedonhispresswastheBible,becauseoftheBible’spopularity.The
GutenbergBiblehereisareproduction,meaningthisbookisnottheoriginalbutitlooksthe
same.Thetextwasprintedtolooksimilartohandwriting,becausethatiswhatpeoplewere
usedto.Thepage(calledaleaf)onexhibitisapageoutofanoriginalGutenbergBible,printed
over460yearsagoin1455.ItisdecoratedlikethehandwrittencopiesofScripturewhich
peoplewerefamiliarwith.
Observe:
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Observehowtheprintingpressworks
MakesomeobservationsabouttheGutenbergpage
ComparetheGutenbergpagewithapagefromaMedievalBible
DiscussionQuestions:
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Discusswritingonclaytabletsandwhatwelearnfromthem
Discusshowscrollsweremadeandtheinventionofthebook
Discusstheinventionoftheprintingpressanditsimportance
Suggestedactivitiesforclassroom
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Youngerstudentscantakeawayawoodcutthattheycanhandcolorinthesameway
thatwoodcutswerehandcoloredbyilluminators.
HavestudentscopytextfromapageoftheBible,oradifferentbook,byhandontoa
sheetofblankpaper.Ifdesired,theycandecorateittoo,likepagesfromearlyBibles
were.Allstudentscancopyfromthesametextor,asanalternative,theycancopy
consecutivepagesfromaBible.Thesepagescanthenbeboundtogetherafterwardsto
createabook.
o Thisactivityencouragesstudentstoconsidertheworkanddedicationthatwent
intothecopyingoftheScriptures,andprovidesaconnectionforthestudentto
therealityofancientandmedievalbookmaking.
Havestudentscreateasmallbook,usingatleasttwoequal-sizedsheetsofpaper,folded
inhalf,onelaidinsidetheother.Attachthetwosheetsatthefold,creatingaspine—if
studentsareoldenoughyarncanbeusedtothreadthesheetstogether,otherwisethey
canbestapledtogether.Studentscanthencopyapageofatextanddrawan
illustrationinside.
o Thisactivitydemonstratestothestudentthebasicprocessofbookmaking,
drawingaconnectionbetweenthestudentandtheancientandmedieval
scribes,andthemanuscriptsintheexhibit.
Vocabulary:
Cuneiform:Awayofwritingwithareedonsoftclay—itmeans‘wedgedshaped’
Papyrus:AplantgrowninEgyptthatwasusedtomakeanancientpaper
Scribe:Apersonwhosejobwastowriteandtocopytexts
Manuscript:Somethingthatwaswrittenbyhand
Codex:Anancientbook
Leaf:Apageinabook
Illumination:Hand-drawndecorationsinabook
PrintingPress:Amachineusedtoprintbooks
Typeset:Metallettersusedwiththeprintingpress