Standard 1: Historical Inquiry and Analysis

In this lesson, students will prepare for and participate in a Socratic Seminar to discuss ways citizens can solve problems in their communities as well as identify Florida’s role in the civil rights movement. They will utilize the texts and primary source documents they analyzed in the previous lesson to answer and generate their own questions to be able to discuss their opinions and make claims based on logical reasoning and text/document evidence. This is lesson 2 of 3 in a mini unit integrating civics and social studies.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will analyze primary and secondary sources to learn about Florida’s role in the civil rights movement. They will utilize a cause-and-effect graphic organizer to identify ways everyday citizens interact with governments to solve problems. This is lesson 1 of 3 in a mini unit integrating civics and social studies.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will work individually or in pairs to design an infographic on paper or digitally to demonstrate their knowledge of Florida’s role in the civil rights movement. This is lesson 3 of 3 in a mini-unit integrating civics and social studies.

Type: Lesson Plan

This is Part 1 of a two-part lesson series where students explain the structure and function of Florida’s three branches of government while understanding the contributions of significant individuals to Florida.

Type: Lesson Plan

To understand the overarching themes of freedom and resiliency in the United States of American, students will identify and analyze the figurative language in the poem “Defence of Fort M’Henry” which turned into our National Anthem. After close reading and group consensus conversation, and possible extension exploration & research, a written or digital presentation which demonstrates students understanding of the “Star-Spangled Banner’s” significance as a symbol of the United States will be the resulting work product of this integrated lesson plan.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson plan, students will first learn about Florida's state Constitution via a brief slideshow. Then, students will visit stations to learn about the 6 different versions of Florida's Constitution, and they will fill in a timeline to demonstrate their knowledge.

Type: Lesson Plan

The purpose of this lesson is to understand the role that Florida played in World War II. This lesson uses primary sources, from the Two Regimes Collection, to bring the Holocaust and World War II closer to home for Florida students. The history of the Holocaust (1933-1945), is included in s. 1003.42, Florida Statutes. 

Type: Lesson Plan

Zora Neale Hurston is most often remembered as a gifted novelist with a knack for capturing the essence of the lives of rural Southerners, especially in Florida. She was also, however, a folklorist who helped the Federal Writers’ Project document the lives and traditions of African-Americans during the Great Depression. Hurston’s work has been instrumental in writing the history of African-American individuals and communities. In this lesson students will listen to a track lining song that was collected by Zora Neale Hurston to write brief journal responses to the audio recording.

Type: Lesson Plan

Lucreaty Clark was born in 1904 in Jefferson County, Florida. She learned to make white oak baskets from her parents, who had learned from their parents. Originally, these sturdy baskets were used to hold cotton and carry vegetables from the plantation fields in north Florida. Through interviews and photographs, Clark shares the unique folklore and heritage of her life as she demonstrates the complete process of her basket making.

In this lesson students will view photographs of white oak basket making and listen to the interview with Lucreaty Clark to learn about the historic significance of white oak baskets in Florida.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Seminoles were part of the economic and cultural development of the Florida frontier. The decline of the hide trade followed by the Great Depression forced Seminoles to seek alternative sources of income.

Beginning in the 1910s, some Seminole families worked at tourist villages along the Tamiami Trail and other highways. Visitors could walk through the villages to learn what daily life was like for the Seminoles. When tourist season ended each year, the families would return to their real homes.

In this lesson students view photographs of Seminole dolls to compare the hairstyles, beadwork and patchwork clothing of the dolls to those of the Seminoles. Students will also be able to describe the historic significance of Seminole dolls in the culture and economy.

Type: Lesson Plan

American shape note singing is a tradition that goes back to the New England singing schools of the 18th century. It is an easy method for learning written music and was intended to replace lining out - the call and response form of singing in which a leader chants each line of a hymn to the congregation before it sings them.

In this lesson students will listen to and analyze a recording of "Florida Storm," a shape note song from The Colored Sacred Harp to discuss the meaning of the song.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first man-made satellite, into space in 1957. Americans watched the Soviet satellite beeping and blinking across the American night sky. Sputnik I weighed only 184 pounds and could do little more than beep, but many people worried that this meant the United States was losing the race to develop space technology.

Pressure exploded from United States politicians and the American public demanding that the country catch up and increase investment in rocket technology and aeronautics. In this lesson students will analyze the film Florida: Moonport USA to describe the effect of the United States space program on Florida's economy, growth and culture.

Type: Lesson Plan

In the interview, longtime net maker and Fernandina resident Billy Burbank III discusses the history and practices of the net making trade. Conducted by folklorist Peggy Bulger in July 1980, the interview begins with Burbank describing how his grandfather began the family business, Burbank Trawl Makers Inc., in 1915.

In this lesson, students will listen to the interview with Billy Burbank III. As they listen, they will complete a Sound Recording Analysis Worksheet from the National Archives and Records Administration. They will then discuss their findings.

Type: Lesson Plan

African-Americans in Tallahassee boycotted the bus system for nearly seven months after the arrest of two Florida A&M University (FAMU) students for sitting beside a white woman. During the boycott, African-Americans in Tallahassee used car pools to get to and from work and for other necessary transportation. Twenty-one members of the Inter Civic Council were convicted on charges of operating an illegal transportation system for arranging the car pool without a franchise. In this lesson students analyze primary source images to write journal responses focused on what they learned about the Tallahassee Bus Boycott.

Type: Lesson Plan

Henry Flagler was the founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. During the 1880s and 1890s, Henry Flagler expanded train lines through Jacksonville and down the East coast to Miami.

Henry Flagler began the Oversea Railway in 1906 to connect Miami to Key West. This ambitious and innovative project required money, earth-moving, man-hours, and miles of bridges. In this lesson students analyze a letter from Henry Flagler to learn about about Flagler and his contributions to Florida.

Type: Lesson Plan

The cigar industry prospered in Florida during the early decades of the 20th century. A combination of factors caused the industry to decline, however, as time moved forward. Conflicts between organized labor and factory managers slowed production, while new machines were able to turn out cigars much faster and cheaper than the hand-rolling method. Demand for fine cigars decreased during the Great Depression, and by the end of World War II enough cigar factories had closed to make the industry less attractive for returning veterans. In this lesson students analyze and write from related primary source documents.

Type: Lesson Plan

During World War II, shortages of a variety of civilian goods became commonplace. To ensure fair distribution, and that vital materials would be conserved for military use, the Federal government implemented a rationing policy on a wide variety of products. Gasoline, rubber, bicycles, shoes, sugar, fruits and vegetables, fats and oils, cheese, coffee, butter, meats, fish, certain canned goods, and even dried peas and beans were among the many products rationed for all or part of the war.

In this lesson students will use primary sources to learn how the rationing of goods effected the lives of adults and children during World War II.

Type: Lesson Plan

The Rough Riders went to Tampa at the end of May. On June 13, they left Tampa to fight in Cuba. Two years after the end of the war, Roosevelt went on to become the 26th president of the United States. In this lesson students analyze photographs to learn about the Rough Riders in Florida.

Type: Lesson Plan

The most famous of the African-American soldiers to fight in the Spanish-American War were known as the "Buffalo Soldiers." They were the first peacetime all-black regiments in the regular U.S. Army. The four regiments, the 9th and 10th Cavalries and the 24th and 25th Infantries, were created by Congress just after the American Civil War. Students will learn about "Buffalo Soldiers" through analysis of photographs.

Type: Lesson Plan

Students will use photographs that depict different aspects of the Daytona Normal and Industrial School. Students will use prior knowledge to describe what they believe a day at the Daytona Normal and Industrial School would look like. Students write using evidence from the photographs.

Type: Lesson Plan

In this lesson, students will examine documents and decide which are primary sources and which are secondary sources. This lesson is intended to give students an introduction to the concept of primary versus secondary sources and to prepare them for future study using more complex documents.

The documents referenced in this lesson plan are from the Daniel M. Williams Papers, held by the State Archives of Florida. Williams collected various documents and photographs in order to write a biography of Mary McLeod Bethune.

Type: Lesson Plan

With the seemingly limitless supply of salt available to us today, it is hard to imagine the hardship imposed by its lack. The Confederate army's meat supply was preserved with salt. With the Union blockade in place, the Confederate states turned to local sources for this important mineral. Salt production became a crucial endeavor for citizens of Florida. In this lesson students will compare Confederate and Union perspectives of the salt works using an illustration, a letter and an excerpt from a memoir.

Type: Lesson Plan

The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the causes and effects of the Seminole Wars. This lesson introduces major themes, events, and individuals in Seminole history using primary sources from the collections of the State Library and Archives of Florida.The purpose of this lesson is to introduce students to the origins of the Seminole Indians and their migration into Florida.

Type: Lesson Plan

Learn about the impact of the growth and development of space exploration on the culture and economy of Florida and how the inclusion of private partners helped reach new goals with this interactive tutorial.

This is part 3 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.

• Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn how the Space Shuttle program revived the area near Cape Canaveral, Florida, and how the possibility of living in space on the Space Station brought new jobs and excitement with this interactive tutorial.

This is part 2 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.

• Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Learn about the early days of NASA, the work at Cape Canaveral during the Moon missions, and how this work affected the people and economy of Florida with this interactive tutorial.

This is part 1 in a three-part series. Click below to view the other tutorials in the series.

• Part 1: To the Moon - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 2: The Space Shuttle Era - Space and the Florida Frontier
• Part 3: Partners in Exploration - Space and the Florida Frontier

Type: Original Student Tutorial

Ivonne Blank immigrated to the United States in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan, the largest exodus on unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere. Ms. Blank talks about how difficult it was waiting for her parents and living in an orphanage in Denver, CO. Her parents later left the island by boat, were rescued by the Coast Guard, and resettled in the United States. After the family was reunited, they were able to rebuild their lives with support from their community. Ms. Blank went on to become a lifelong educator and U.S. citizen.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Idelia Viera shares the experience of being exiled from Cuba as a young woman, with special focus on the Cuban Missile Crisis. Ms. Viera describes the difficulties her immigrant family faced and overcame in their new home, providing educational opportunities for their children she and her husband never had. Her daughter, Dr. Cristina Viera, shares her experiences growing up as the child of political refugees and talks about how her career path stems from the dreams her father had before he left Cuba.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Luis Martínez-Fernández was born at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. Dr. Martínez-Fernández immigrated to the United States with his family when he was 2 years old after the Bay of Pigs Invasion. His family moved to Lima, Peru after his father was offered employment there. Dr. Martínez-Fernández’s family left Peru after the President of Peru was ousted from power. The new government in Peru concerned Dr. Martínez-Fernández’s father and the family moved to Puerto Rico where they become U.S. Citizens. Dr. Martínez-Fernández moved to the U.S. after graduation from The University of Puerto Rico. He is a Professor of History, an author, and is civically engaged through his nationally syndicated column.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Former U.S Senator and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Mel Martínez shares his journey to freedom in the United States. Mr. Martínez was part of Operation Pedro Pan in which unaccompanied Cuban children were sent to the United States to escape the newly formed communist regime of Fidel Castro. Before leaving Cuba, he spent time with his father who shared life lessons with his son. Mr. Martínez distinctly remembers the pilot announcing that they were in America. After moving around the state of Florida in settlement camps, Mr. Martínez was placed in foster care. After four years he and his family were reunited. Mr. Martínez helped his father become a veterinarian in the U.S and as a family they were highly active in the community. His family’s spirit of activism was the foundation of Mr. Martínez’s career as a public servant. He graduated from Florida State University Law School in 1973 and began his political career. He was appointed the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in 2001 and became a United States Senator in 2005.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation

Alejandro Brice and his family immigrated from Cuba at the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. His father was jailed as a counter-revolutionary sympathizer and upon release, the family fled the country. Dr. Brice shares his memories of his “freedom wings”, the culture shock of growing up in Ohio as immigrants, learning English in elementary school, watching his family start over, and becoming a U.S. Citizen. Dr. Brice is a college professor specializing in the education of immigrant children and English language learners.

Type: Video/Audio/Animation