Read the Gospel According to Mark 1-4 and 8-16. Think about this text in relation to what you’ve learned about Second Temple Judaism and the processes of Hellenization and Romanization. Write a brief (~350 words) reflection on passages that illustrate the good news in regard to these concerns.

As you do so, think about the kinds of artifacts and primary sources you’ve come across in this course. Reference these as you work out your observations. Use your interactive notebook as you work through the reading and your writing.

Given that this is our first sustained dive into the text, I imagine your going in with some trepidation. Don’t be this guy:

Arnold from The Magic School Bus is seated on the bus with his eyes closed shut as if he was praying. He's quoted as saying, "Please let this be a normal field trip."

Instead, be like her:

Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus series is draped with her lizard, Liz, while raising her arms in the air. In bold letters, she's quoted as saying "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!"

You have hunches and ideas and suspicious. Use your resources and follow them. If you go all in here, we can work out the kinks together in class. And those will actually lead us to better answers and better questions. So go for it!