Florida s Early Days to the Present: An Introduction to Map Skills By Lucy Hawes, Churchwell Elementary

Transcription

1 Florida s Early Days to the Present: An Introduction to Map Skills By Lucy Hawes, Churchwell Elementary I. Lesson Summary Lesson G-8 Summary In this unit, Florida s history, from the days of the early saber-toothed tiger to the present space age, will come alive through the creation of a Big Book made by the students during class time. This series of lessons will end in a culminating activity of locating the different crops and resources for the regions of Florida on an edible map working in cooperative groups of four. These lessons are all designed for learning through various hands-on activities. ESOL students will be able to join in these visual lessons as well. Students will learn mapping skills as well as early to present day history. Objectives Students will: 1.) Learn the history of Florida from early ages to present day; 2.) Locate selected cities on a map of Florida; 3.) Measure distances from selected cities in the state of Florida; 4.) Make an edible map of Florida crops and resources. U.S. History Event or Era This lesson encompasses basic mapping skills, as well as prehistoric to present-day Florida. Grade Level This lesson can be used for upper elementary grades or even adapted for 3 rd grade. Materials *One copy of They Called It Florida, an elementary school-themed coloring book that can be ordered from: Dewitt Inc., 4504 West Elm St., Tampa, Florida, (call or fax at 813/ ; you may request one free copy, but you may also order a minimum of two dozen for 38 cents each). Days 1-2: Worksheets divided among the groups for the Big Books (there are 30 pages to be copied and divided); crayons or markers; tag board; glue or glue sticks; paper book fastener of your choice; and laminating if available. Days 3-4: Student maps of Florida (included in Activities section); Florida maps with cities, natural features, and mileage chart (included in Activities section; can also be found on page A15 of Florida, Harcourt Brace s 4 th - grade Social Studies textbook); Florida Landmarks worksheet (included in Activities section); crayons; colored pencils; and a ruler. Day 5: Pre-made sugar cookies (Pillsbury Slice n Bake cookie dough works well), white icing, chocolate chips (to represent timber), miniature marshmallows (representing cotton), goldfish crackers (representing fishing), Runts (citrus industry), and blueberry-flavored Twizzlers strings (for rivers). Children can bring these items in during the days leading up to the activity. Time Needed A week and a half should be ample time to carry out the activities. Each lesson should be an hour to an hourand-a-half long.

2 II. Lesson Procedures Procedures Day One 1.) The teacher should gather the children in the reading corner and share the story in the coloring book They Called It Florida with the children. A discussion about each section should follow as read or as needed by the children s interest. 2.) Children should then be divided into ability groups of four and desks arranged table-style for this week of lessons, as all activities are suitable for grouping and peer buddy help. 3.) Teacher should have a set of sheets ready for each group to color from the book. When finished at the end of Day Two all pages should have been included. Approximately 1-2 hours could be used on this lesson. Day Two 4.) Have children finish coloring and begin assembling their pages onto tag board that is larger than the page using a thin layer of glue or glue sticks. Each page should be on one side of the tag board and in order according to the original copy of the book. After the pages are all glued on the tag board and have dried, laminate the pages if possible for durability and handling ease. Day Three 5.) Pass out blank maps of Florida along with resource materials you have with a map of Florida listing 25 major cities, rivers, lakes, etc. Give children a list of the cities and natural features to locate (this can be found in the Activities section). The children may work in peer groups to identify and label their maps. A large poster size map hung in the front of the classroom is helpful to ESOL students also. 6.) After the maps are labeled, and colored, collect and save for the next day s activity. Day Four 7.) Pass maps back out to each child. Today the children will use a ruler and measure the distance between the following cities (you may wish to write the following on the board for all students to see, or make a transparency listing A-G): a. Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm Beach; b. Miami to Ft. Myers; c. Ft. Lauderdale to St. Augustine; d. Gainesville to Tallahassee; e. Orlando to Ft. Lauderdale; f. West Palm Beach to Tampa; g. Orlando to Tampa. 8.) Collect maps for assessment at the end of the period. Day Five 9.) Make sugar cookies ahead of time in the shape of Florida. Many schools have a die-cutter for the Ellison machine to make a pattern, and use the slice and bake kind of cookies for ease. Give each child a cookie and a tub of icing for four children to use. Each table will also need a bowl of resources listed above. Spend time teaching the children about the various industries and crops grown in Florida and the regions they are grown in. The children will then use their resources to decorate in the proper regions. After the cookies are decorated and assessed by you, then the kids are free to munch them up. Day Six 10.) Review the material presented on Day One.

3 Student Handout G-8-1 III. Activities Blank Florida Map Directions: Using the other map of Florida provided by your teacher, fill in the various cities/natural features listed on your Florida Landmarks list.

4 Student Handout G-8-2 Pensacola Tallahassee Jacksonville St. Augustine Gainesville Daytona Beach Orlando Tampa St. Petersburg Lakeland Bartow Ft. Myers West Palm Beach Ft. Lauderdale Miami Key West

5 Florida s Major Landmarks Directions: 1.) Find the following features of Florida (cities, lakes, rivers, etc.) on the map provided to your group. 2.) Draw in the same features on your group s blank map. 3.) Repeat this process until your group is finished. Cities Bartow Daytona Beach Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers Gainesville Jacksonville Key West Lakeland Miami Orlando Pensacola St. Augustine St. Petersburg Tallahassee Tampa West Palm Beach Natural features Apalachicola River Cape Canaveral Everglades Lake Okeechobee Peace River St. Johns River St. Mary s River Suwanee River Tampa Bay (Cut along dotted line) Florida s Major Landmarks Directions: 4.) Find the following features of Florida (cities, lakes, rivers, etc.) on the map provided to your group. 5.) Draw in the same features on your group s blank map. 6.) Repeat this process until your group is finished. Cities Bartow Daytona Beach Fort Lauderdale Fort Myers Gainesville Jacksonville Key West Lakeland Miami Orlando Pensacola St. Augustine St. Petersburg Tallahassee Tampa West Palm Beach Natural features Apalachicola River Cape Canaveral Everglades Lake Okeechobee Peace River St. Johns River St. Mary s River Suwanee River Tampa Bay

6 IV. Assessment On Day 7 of this lesson, the students can be instructed to write to the following prompt: In studying about the state of Florida, you have learned many interesting facts. Explain to the reader of your paper what you have learned about Florida from the early days to the present space age. Illustrate your paper with your favorite fact! 1.) The first Floridians were: a. Spaniards who arrived in the early 1500s b. British who arrived in the mid-1700s c. Americans who arrived in the early 1800s d. Indians who arrived over 10,000 years ago 2.) The Spanish explorer who discovered Florida, and was later wounded by hostile Indians and died, was: a. Ponce de Leon b. Andrew Jackson c. Osceola d. Hernando de Soto 3.) During the American Revolution, Florida: a. sided with the colonies and fought England b. remained loyal to England c. was a Spanish colony d. remained neutral 4.) Florida sided with the during the American Civil War. a. United States b. Confederacy c. English d. Spanish 5.) Which of the following statements about the Seminoles is incorrect? a. They were a loose confederation of Indians who migrated down to Florida in the 1700s; b. They fought three wars with early settlers and the U.S. Army; c. After the Third Seminole War, the Indians kicked all of the white American settlers out of Florida; d. After the Third Seminole War ended, most of the Seminoles were deported but a few fled south into the Everglades, where many still live today. 6.) Name two of Florida s main industries. 7.) Can you identify Florida s: a. State Bird? b. State Flower? c. State Tree? d. State Song? e. State Mammals? f. State Fish? g. State Endangered Species? 8.) Can you match the countries whose flags have flown over Florida with the years in which these countries owned Florida? Be careful; two countries have held Florida two different times!! Countries Period England (Britain) Spain United States Confederate States of America

7 V. Resources They Called it Florida, Dewitt Publishing, 4504 West Elm St., Tampa, FL 33614; phone and fax (813) blank map of Florida Florida: Harcourt Brace Social Studies (4 th -grade textbook), Harcourt Brace & Company: Orlando (2002)