Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans

Elementary School (13 Lesson Plans)
Middle School (9 Lesson Plans)
High School (14 Lesson Plans)

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Elementary School

2nd Grade. Social Studies and Language Arts.   School Rules, Old and New. Elaine Gromak, Derek Wingate, and Verna Moheler (2004). Students learn the rules that boys had to follow when attending school in St. Augustine in 1786. Discussion of why we have rules. Can be adapted to older grades. 3rd and 4th Grade. Social Studies.   The New World: What You Should Know Before You Go. Lisa Morgan (2005). Students learn that Native American cultures thrived in the Americas before the first European colonies. 3rd to 5th Grade. Social Studies, Music, Theater and Visual Arts.   Here's to the Fort that Never Fell. Diane D. Whitney (2005). A lesson about the Castillo de San Marcos, with original music and score, and ideas for staging a skit. Focuses on the 1702 attack by Gov. James Moore of Carolina. Instrumental Vocal 3rd to 5th Grades. Social Studies and Language Arts.   The Role & Status of Africans in St. Augustine.     Alternate format Jeannie Dunn, Gloria Ferguson, Samantha Garver, Esperanza Kane, Cary Palmieri, Mary Alice Schad, and K.C. Smith (2004). Students study life under slavery. Role-play, readings, discussion, writing activities. 4th Grade. Social Studies and Language Arts.   It's a Kid's Life. Andrea Alexander and Maura Timmerman (2005). Using a reading, students discover and discuss what life was life for children in Florida in 1740. 4th Grade. Social Studies and Language Arts.   It’s a Special Place. Lois Medevic (2004). Students examine the reasons why Spaniards came from Europe to the Americas. Essay exercise. 4th Grade. Social Studies and Language Arts.   The Minorcans of Florida. Thalia Clarke (2004). Students learn about the Minorcan settlers of the 1770s and try their hands at writing journal entries about colonists’s lives. Includes culture, recipes, etc. 4th Grade. Social Studies.   Early Explorers. Lynda Burdette (2004). A quick lesson about the Spanish explorers and conquistadors. 4th Grade. Social Studies and Math.   Historic Homes of St. Augustine. Coni Solomon (2004). Students learn about colonial houses, families, and the local environment. Vocabulary, math, and mapping activities. 4th and 5th Grades. Social Studies and Language Arts.   Effects of Colonization on Native American Life. Linda Noonan (2004). Students examine the cultures of two groups, the Timucua of Florida and the Wampanoag of Massachusetts, before and after the start of European colonies in North America. Website provided. 4th and 5th Grades. Social Studies, Chemistry, Geology.   The Houses of St. Augustine. Collen McGrath (2004). Uses a discussion of colonial housing to teach students about different types of building material, including stone, wood, wattle and daub, and tabby. Students experiment with making tabby. Teacher lecture, online resources, hands-on activities. 4th Grade and up. Social Studies and Geography.   The Founding of St. Augustine. Michelle Dunn (2004). Students learn the story of the founding from an eyewitness account. Analysis of a primary source, writing, and mapping activities. 4th Grade and up. Social Studies.   Sir Francis Drake burns St. Augustine, 1586. Deborah Clark (2004). Students hear an account of Drake’s raid and match passages to illustrations. Can be adapted for Middle and High School. RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

Middle School 6th to 8th Grades. Spanish and Social Studies.   La Gente de San Agustín. Isabel Castro (2004). Teaches vocabulary and reviews the colonial life of early Spanish colonists. Gives published and online sources. 6th and 7th Grades. Social Studies.   Daily Life in Spanish St. Augustine, 1565-1763. Laura Wakefield, Kathy Yttri, Joan Dever, Calvin Parkes, Carol Richardson, and Cathryn Buckley (2004). A brief illustrated reader that highlights some of the artifacts recovered from archaeological sites in St. Augustine and their meaning. 6th to 8th Grades. Social Studies and Language Arts.   Ghosts of St. Augustine Mary Jackson (2004). Students select one of 8 “ghosts” and must research and write up a report about what life was like for that person in the period when they lived. 6th to 8th Grades. Social Studies and Language Arts.   Colonial Housing of St. Augustine. Michelle Kane, Jay Best, Monica Diba, Lori Monkman, Linda Torrible, and Judith Hall (2004). Uses colonial housing and architecture to teach a variety of skills. Includes the vocabulary test “Fly Swatter Game,” drawings, building. Can be modified for any grade level. 6th to 8th Grades. Social Studies and Geography.   Colonial Architecture of St. Augustine. Theresa Fevola, Roz Jacobs, and Maria Williams (2004). A one week lesson plan, focusing on colonial life, environment, and geography. Includes poster exercise, vocabulary quiz, and creation of diorama. 6th to 8th Grades. Social Studies and History.   A Snapshot of Colonial St. Augustine. Ken Abrams (2004). Concentrates on the settlers of St. Augustine and their daily lives.  Makes use of the Florida Museum of Natural History website and a teacher website.  Worksheet activities. 6th to 8th Grades. Social Studies and History.   Early Florida and the Missions. Diane Driggers (2004). Lesson on the Spanish mission system of the 17th century with suggested books and online sources. Designed around a class trip to Mission San Luis de Apalachee in Tallahassee. 8th Grades. American History.   African Americans at Fort Mose. Matt and Jenifer Lopez (2005). Using books and online resources, students study the free black community of Fort Mose, Florida, in the 1700s. 7th and 12th Grades. U.S. History and Geography.   Settling in Spanish America. Jay Gavitt (2005). Students use the "Royal Ordinances for New Towns" to locate and lay out their own Spanish colonial town. RETURN TO TOP OF PAGE

High School 8th to 12th Grades. Social Studies and History.   Comparing Colonies. Scott Sommer, Trish Henderson, Erica Martin, Carole Martin, and Mary Jo Indovina (2004). Students are divided into groups and assigned a colony from history. They must create a presentation describing it. Includes “Suggested Resources.” 9th and 10th Grades. Social Studies and History.   Overview of Colonial Development. Keith Zent (2004). Lecture and discussion format, requiring final student report, on early French, Spanish, and British efforts to settle the southeastern United States. With primary sources on the Drake raid on St. Augustine, 1586. 9th and 10th Grades. U.S. History.   Exploration and Colonization. Joanne Flaherty (2004). Timeline, graph, and writing assignments about early voyages of exploration. Includes detailed timeline handout and list of readings. 9th, 10th, and 11th Grades. Social Studies.   STRIFE! Life in Spanish St. Augustine.     [Set of Game Cards]. Jon Mapstone (2005). Card game in which students must evaluate how well the colonists in St. Augustine are doing in their struggle to survive. 10th Grade. Social Studies and World History.   History Alive! Spanish Colonial Architecture. C. Kelly (2004). A series of readings with critical thinking questions about the factors that affected how and why people built their homes and town. Can be used in conjunction with the Florida Museum of Natural History’s online exhibit about St. Augustine. 10th Grade. World History.   The Castillo de San Marcos and the Defense of the Spanish Empire. Alberto Barrueco (2004). Analyzes Spain’s efforts to defend its New World empire. Assigned readings and essay requirement. 10th to 12th Grades. U.S. and World History.   Colonies in Conflict. Danny McMillan and Bill Wilkin (2004). Working in groups, students must research and write up the purpose, location, and characteristics of a historical colony and then explain the reasons for its conflicts with a neighboring colony. 11th Grade. English Literature.   Point of View. Nancy Fleisher (2004). Asks students to examine an historical event from a variety of viewpoints and to discuss how this affects their opinions. Writing, art analysis. 11th to 12th Grade. U.S. and World History.   Justice and Conflict Resolution in a Spanish Colony. Judy Hoffman (2004). Uses an article from The Americas to examine the Spanish colonial justice system. Focuses on justice for women. 9th through 12th Grades. Spanish Lessons.   Españolé! (external website) Susan Seraphine-Kimel. Web site with extensive resources to teaching high school level Spanish, including a history section on Florida and Spanish America. 9th through 12th Grades. More Spanish Lessons.   Spanish I through V (A.P.) Nydia Osteen, Mercedes Guardado, and José Palos (2006). Three Spanish teachers compiled a series of exercises and readings for different levels of Spanish. These include descriptions of images of the Timucua Indians; biographies of Menéndez, de Soto, and Ponce de León; a timeline of Florida history; vocabulary and fill in the blank exercises; a word scramble; a Spanish language translation of the history of Fort Mose; and short readings. Timucua Images PowerPoint and PDF (for matching exercises) Spanish I: Matching Images/Fill in the Blank Spanish III: Matching Images/Para and Por and Word Find Spanish III/IV: Vocabulary/Fill in the Blank Spanish III/IV: Timeline Spanish III/IV: Sabiás Que Advanced: Explorer Biographies, with Worksheet Advanced: The History of Fort Mose High School. U.S. History.   Florida: A Slave Sanctuary, 1687-1763. Lynne Wilbanks (2005). Readings and discussion about Spanish Florida as an early "Underground Railroad." High School. Literature.   A Slave is a Dead Soul: the writings of Juan Francisco Manzano. John "Melvin" Pennisi (2005). An introduction into the life and writings of Juan Manzano, Cuban slave and poet. With instructions on how to construct a poem in decima. High School. American History (Native America).   Images of the Timucua. Jessica Day and Dana Marvin (2005). Analysis of a selected group of the De Bry/LeMoyne engravings of the Timucua Indians of northeast Florida, and of text from the French accounts. Microsoft PowerPoint.

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