To better understand the economic aspects of early Florida and to gain an understanding of the continuity of history and economics, students analyze the economic origins and evolution of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the United States. This lesson plan involves taking the students on a field trip to St. Augustine where they form teams…

Materials for secondary school students to supplement a tour of the Fort Myers (Florida) Historical Museum are presented. Background information on the history of Southwest Florida is provided, and the rest of the materials consist of specific questions and suggested class activities on many of the major actors and activities in the area's…

This booklet is designed to assist teachers in guiding students through the Museum of Historic St. Augustine (Government House) exhibit, "The Dream, The Challenge, The City." The exhibit and learning activities explore cultural, economic, and architectural development from the 1565 Spanish settlement to the Flagler Era of the 1880s and…

Discusses the educational benefits of using visual materials as historical sources. Outlines steps for analyzing historical photographs. Applies these steps to two sample lessons about sugar-cane syrup making in Florida and dealing with migrant workers in Florida during the Depression. (RW)

Rural Folklife Days is an annual celebration of customs and crafts that have been practiced every fall by generations of people in rural areas of north Florida. This packet is designed to help teachers prepare elementary students for Rural Folklife Days and to introduce them to traditional crafts and arts that are still practiced in parts of north…

This lesson provides a case study about a U.S. immigrant community of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and offers a contrast to the typical textbook coverage which emphasizes immigration from eastern and southern Europe to the big cities of the northern United States. The lesson focuses on Ybor City (now part of Tampa, Florida); it was a…

Traces social and working history of Sicilian women. Examines this history's significance to the development of Ybor City, an immigrant community settled by Sicilians, Cubans, and Spaniards in Tampa, Florida. Presents experiences and lifestyles of women employed in cigar factories, characterizing them as labor radicals yet traditionally domestic.…