Artifact Bag

Juan Ponce de Leon, (approximately 1460 to 1521) born a soldier and explorer, was the first Spaniard to discover the coast of Florida. His journeys include Bimini, Puerto Rico, Florida, Spain and the Dominican.

Vintage map of Florida. Of course this is an artist’s rendering, but it’s similar to a map from the 1500’s or before. Typically maps were made from handmade paper and were of very thin density. Sailors would hold the map over a candle light as to see it in the dark which explains the burn holes in the center of the page.

Borders of the past and present, sailing to the coast of Florida in the 1500’s. The coastline of Florida was very underdeveloped compared to present day. Upon arrival, the explorers and the natives broke out into battle over ownership of the land.

Ponce de Leon’s map from 1513. His voyage started in Spain, traveled through the Dominican, Bimini (Bahamas) up to St. Augustine, down around the southernmost point of Florida and to Puerto Rico.

Santa Maria, one of 3 ships with Ponce de Leon’s voyage to the Americas in 1513. Upon this voyage, there were a total of about 200 crew members consisting of warriors, doctors, priests and explorers.

The Fountain of Youth, sought after by Ponce de Leon on his voyage to the Americas. This fountain was thought to have curative powers and keep whoever drank from it eternally young.

Pascua de Florida – which literally translates to “fest of flowers” in Spanish – is the name given to the present day state of Florida, because of the lush flowers and colorful blooms Ponce de Leon came across when he discovered the land.

These are Indians similar to those protecting the land of which Spanish and European explorers were trying to invade and take over. Most times, the voyagers were successful, but other times battle broke out and the explorers with their crew were badly injured or killed. The Indians would poison their arrows prior to shooting them as to cause irreversible damage upon entry.

References (in order of appearance)

Jonathan. (2009). Rhythm and waves blog. Retrieved from http://rhythmandwaves.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/jonjuan-in-spanish-class/

Museum of Florida Art. (2009). Legendary Florida background. Retrieved from http://www.museumoffloridaart.org/legendaryflorida/background.html

Bucuvalas, T. (2000). At the borders of culture: Past and present. Retrieved from http://www.kislakfoundation.org/millennium-exhibit/bucuvalas1.htm

Lopez-White, C. (2010). Ponce de Leon. Retrieved from http://cheyennelopezwhite.glogster.com/Ponce-de-Leon/

Janning, R. (2006). Knights of Columbus. Retrieved from http://www.kofc2898.org/

De Leon, J.P. (2008). Juan Ponce de Leon blog. Retrieved from jponcedeleon123.blogspot.com/

Display Pictures

Photo 1: Coastline of Florida during Ponce de Leon's voyage in the early 1500's

Photo 2: Map from the 1500's

Pictures

Book List

Boyd, B. (2003). Exploring the Americas. Williamsburg, VA: Chester Comix Publishing

Gallagher, J. (2000). Hernando de Soto and the exploration of Florida. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publications.

Harmon, D. (2000). Juan Ponce de Leon: And the search for the fountain of youth. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publications.

Maestro, B. & Maestro, G. (1992). The discovery of the Americas. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishing

Molzahn, A. B. (2003). Ponce de Leon: Explorer of Florida. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Ragen, R. (2005). Ponce de Leon: Exploring Florida and Puerto Rico. New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company.

Working Notebook

These need to be printed on individual pages so the student can create a working notebook.

New World Adventure
Action Plan
By:
_________________


Public Announcement
Directions: Write a brief notice to alert the people of your country of your action plan. Tell people about you, notify them of your voyage and state reasons for your exploration.



Ship & Map
Directions: Draw a picture of your ship and a map of your voyage.

Weather, Conditions & Location
Directions: Pretend to log the daily weather conditions, what do you think it’s like on the ocean? Note you’re location daily – are you closer to Spain or the coast of the Americas?

Day One:



Day Two:



Day Three:


Flag of Monarchy & Items discovered

Directions: Draw the flag that’s flying from the mast of your ship. List the items you discovered when you came ashore. Describe if you found what you were looking for, anything you’ve never seen before, and/or something you already have at home.

Florida Sunshine State Standards for Fourth Grade

Benchmark SS.4.3.1: The student identifies explorers who came to Florida and the motivations behind their expeditions.
o Recognizes a European explorer who came to Florida who came to find slaves and riches.

Benchmark SS.4.A.3.2: Describe cause and effects of European colonization on the Native American tribes of Florida.
o Recognizes an effect of European colonization on Native American tribes in Florida, such as slavery.

Benchmark SS.4.A.3.3: Identify the significance of St. Augustine as the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States.
o Recognizes that St. Augustine is an old European settlement.

Benchmark SS.4.A.3.4: Explain the purpose of and daily like on missions.
o Identify that the purpose of missions in Florida was to spread Christianity, the Spanish language, and style of dress to Native Americans.

Benchmark SS.4.A.3.6: Identify the effects of Spanish rule in Florida.
o Recognizes effects of Spanish rule in early Florida, such as names of cities, agriculture, and weapons.

Benchmark SS.4.A.3.7: Identify nations (Spain, France, and England) that controlled Florida before it became a United States territory.
o Identifies different nations that controlled Florida, such as England or Spain

Resources

Amazon.com. (2010). Florida explorers: Children’s books. Retrieved from http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Americas-Chester-Comics-Content/dp/0972961631/ref=pd_sim_b_42#noop

Boilon, S. (2006). An adventure to the new world. Retrieved from http://www.proteacher.com/cgi-bin/outsidesite.cgi?id=3190&external=http://score.rims.k12.ca.us/activity/newworld/&original=http://www.proteacher.com/090065.shtml&title=An Adventure to the New World

Enchanted Learning (1996). Explorers of North and Central America. Retrieved from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/explorers/namerica.shtml

Senate Kids. (2010). Florida timeline. Retrieved from http://www.flsenate.gov/senatekids/timeline.cfm

USHistory.com. (2010). Jean Ribault. Retrieved from http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1147.html


Images

How Stuff Works. (1998). History of Florida. Retrieved from http://history.howstuffworks.com/american-history/history-of-florida1.htm

Museum of Florida Art. (2009). Legendary Florida background. Retrieved from http://www.museumoffloridaart.org/legendaryflorida/background.html


Artifact Bag Images and Information

Bucuvalas, T. (2000). At the borders of culture: Past and present. Retrieved from http://www.kislakfoundation.org/millennium-exhibit/bucuvalas1.htm

De Leon, J.P. (2008). Juan Ponce de Leon blog. Retrieved from jponcedeleon123.blogspot.com/

Janning, R. (2006). Knights of Columbus. Retrieved from http://www.kofc2898.org/

Jonathan. (2009). Rhythm and waves blog. Retrieved from http://rhythmandwaves.wordpress.com/2009/08/25/jonjuan-in-spanish-class/

Lopez-White, C. (2010). Ponce de Leon. Retrieved from http://cheyennelopezwhite.glogster.com/Ponce-de-Leon/

Museum of Florida Art. (2009). Legendary Florida background. Retrieved from http://www.museumoffloridaart.org/legendaryflorida/background.html

Book List

Boyd, B. (2003). Exploring the Americas. Williamsburg, VA: Chester Comix Publishing

Gallagher, J. (2000). Hernando de Soto and the exploration of Florida. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publications.

Harmon, D. (2000). Juan Ponce de Leon: And the search for the fountain of youth. New York, NY: Chelsea House Publications.

Maestro, B. & Maestro, G. (1992). The discovery of the Americas. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishing

Molzahn, A. B. (2003). Ponce de Leon: Explorer of Florida. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Ragen, R. (2005). Ponce de Leon: Exploring Florida and Puerto Rico. New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company.

Procedures

Bell Activity
Have a writing prompt projected for students to respond in their journals.

• Sample Writing Prompt 1: Think about the last time you learned something new. What did you learn and why is it important to YOU? What did it feel like to discover something, to learn something, or to find important information?
• Sample Writing Prompt 2: Describe the last time you met someone new, whether it’s a friend, a neighbor, or a classmate. What was it like for you to learn about them, their hometown (if they recently moved here), and their lifestyle? Imagine if you recently moved to a new place and had to start school and make new friends. How would you approach the situation? Compare this to how the Spaniards invaded the coast of Florida, what should they have done differently?

Artifact Bag Activity
Equal to amount of time devoted to one to two social studies lessons

Arrange students in groups of four or five to work on an artifact bag of objects and photos relating to the Explorations of Florida.

• Photos will be related to the content information

Have students carefully examine the items in the bag and discuss what they think the underlying topic is and what the photos are depicting.

• Students should select their favorite picture and explain to the group why it’s their favorite.
• Students should discuss questions they have about the photos/objects together.
• Students should make notes in their journals about any questions or topics they need clarified.

Hold a class discussion to address the topics raised from the groups. Answer questions as a class that groups/students have about the topic and/or pictures.

• Students should be taking notes in their journals about the questions raised and note the answers to their questions.

Groups will discuss the questions and answers raised by the class and come up with one or two interesting, related questions about the Explorations of Florida.

To answer these questions, groups will work together through their artifact bags, textbooks, children’s literature library, and the internet.

• Set up centers for students to rotate between (20 minutes per center)

• Center 1: Technology (limited Internet access; suggested site 1, suggested site 2)
  
• Center 2: Textbook Discovery (in-depth look at the chapter related to this topic)
  
• Center 3: Children’s Literature (read short books, look for answers)

Upon conducting research, students will either change or confirm the item, idea or object from the artifact bag they felt was the most interesting to them.

Students will present and explain to the class from their perspective of importance.

New World Adventure Plan of Action Activity

Equal to three to four days of devoted social studies time

Following the brief presentations, the teacher will project a picture from the exploration era. Students will brainstorm in their groups what they think was going on in the picture and decide what role they want to play (navigator, ambassador, explorer, doctor, warrior, crew, etc)

• Students need to work together within their group to decide who will take on which predetermined role?
  

Students in their groups will

• Gain background knowledge of their role (expectations, duties, rights, roles, etc)
  
• Research information (information from Internet, books, group members, personal information)
  
• Complete the provided notebook individually and together with their group
  
• Explain why they made those decisions
  
• Present the plan of action to the “King and Queen” (teacher and class) and decide as a group whether to continue with you exploration or stop and come home.
  

Homework

Students will follow up on the artifact bag activity and the new world adventure activity by writing a brief reflection in their journals. This is will not be graded, but will be checked for completion. Students are expected to reflect on their role within their group and tell about what they learned throughout these two activities.

Objectives

Students will be able to:

• Identify key explorers who discovered and/or settled on the coast of Florida.

• Obtain a historical perspective of the explorations of the 1400 and 1500’s.

• Navigate the internet to find relevant information.

• Search textbooks and children’s literature to learn important information.

• Work cooperatively and creatively in groups to complete given assignments.

• Brainstorm and write thoughtful journal entries.

• Use primary sources to discover information about the past.

• Determine the reason for the voyages to America.

• Present information they learned to the class in a cohesive and creative way.

• Students will evaluate, analyze and compare information collected.

Materials Needed

• Projector (overhead, PowerPoint, doc cam, etc)
• Student writing journals
• Pencils
• Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
• Content / Background information
• Florida Explorations artifact bag
• Computer center with internet access
• Children’s Literature Books
• Exploration related picture for brainstorming
• New World Adventure Action Plan notebook

ESOL Modifications

Bell Activity
For ESOL students who are in the early production phase of their L2 acquisition, the teacher should read the writing prompt as to ensure they understand the assignment.

The teacher should monitor their progress and assist with clarification or reread the directions and prompt again.

The teacher can model this activity by responding to the writing prompt in the doc cam.

The teacher can ask provoking questions related to the writing prompts to give ESOL students something more to build upon. Relate the questions to what it was like for them to move to this town and how they overcame settlement issues.

Artifact Bag Activity
Explain this activity and read the directions several times.

The photos/realia associated with the artifact bag is helpful for ESOL students. It gives them visuals to associate with.

Group work is also beneficial for ESOL students as they have the interaction with native L2 speakers. They are able to work together and build comprehension further.

When discussing the contents of the artifact bag, ask ESOL students to point to the picture with a certain object.

Allow ESOL students additional time when selecting their favorite picture or item – they may not have the same connection as the mainstream students.

Forewarn ESOL students when they will be called upon to present their favorite item or picture as to allow ample time for preparation.

Ensure the ESOL student is taking notes on discoveries or questions when completing the artifact bag activity. Be sure to answer these questions as a class so the student has an understanding of the lesson.

Inquiry based questioning is beneficial for ESOL students because it allows them to think critically and explain verbally rather than write – which may still be a challenge if the student is in speech emergence or early production stage of their L2.

New World Adventure Activity
Group work is also beneficial for ESOL students as they have the interaction with native L2 speakers. They are able to work together and build comprehension further.

Having the notebook premade with written directions and lines to be filled in helps, it gives ESOL and mainstream students direction rather than staring at a blank page.

Explain this activity and read the directions several times.

Model completing a section of the notebook so students understand what is expected of them.

The art integration (drawing a map, ship, and flag) will ease the pressure of the ESOL student. Art is expressive without words.

Have the ESOL student take a leadership role if this is something more familiar to him/her in his/her L1 (Taiwanese students naturally enjoy leadership roles, for example).

Provide a word bank on the chalkboard for students to refer to.

Encourage students / groups to revisit the content section of the lesson to refresh their memory.

Assessment

The teacher will observe students while completing their bell activity writing prompt. Students are expected to be on task and engaged in the brainstorm and follow through of their journals.

• Full participation credit will be granted if the student completes his/her prompt.

The students will work in groups to complete the artifact bag activity. They are expected to be engaged with each other and actively thinking and questioning their discoveries. They are expected to be taking notes and listing things they question or something new they learned

• Full participation credit will be granted if students are cooperating and working while remaining on task.

Students will rotate through three centers (textbook discovery, children’s literature, internet)

• Full participation credit will be granted if the students discover something new and note it in their notebooks. Students should at least attempt to answer their own questions.

Students will present their questions, answers, and an interesting fact to the class.

• Full participation credit will be granted if the student successfully presents all three areas.

Students will work in groups to design an action plan of new world discovery. This activity requires additional research, cooperation, art, creativity, brainstorming and writing.

• Full credit will be granted if the notebook is completed accurately and creatively. Students should think critically about obstacles and challenges an explorer of the 1400’s and 1500’s dealt with. (This notebook will be collected and evaluated)

Students will present, as a group, their notebooks to the teacher and class.

• Full participation credit will be granted if the students present their notebooks.

Reflection homework will be assigned but will not be graded. The teacher needs to check for completion.

Content

Florida Explorers
Who are they and why did they come to Florida?


Born in Santervas, Spain around 1460, Ponce de Leon was born a soldier and explorer. He was on Christopher Columbus’ second expedition to the Americas in 1493 and never returned to Spain with Columbus because he decided to take over islands and land as quickly as he discovered them. At one point, he was appointed the governor of the Dominican province of Higuey but left with hopes of discovering gold in the neighboring island of Borinquen (known today as Puerto Rico). Upon landing ashore, de Leon used brutal force to conquer the island, claim it for Spain and again, become appointed governor. This brutality didn’t go unnoticed as he was removed from office in 1511 and cited for mistreatment of the Native Americans. It’s quite clear that the reason for his journey to Borinquen was after the gold and riches of the island (Enchanted, 1996).

Ponce de Leon’s journeys continued when he was “given the right to find and take the island of Bimini – a Bahamian Island – in search of riches and the fountain of youth” (Enchanted, 1996). His journey began in April of 1513 with three ships – The Santa Maria, the Santiago and the San Cristobal – and about 200 men. After a couple of stops along the way, de Leon and his crew reached the east coast of the Americas. He and his expedition crew first landed on the coast of St. Augustine, along the northeastern coast of the state, where he quickly claimed the land for Spain and named the land “Florida” after the season of “Pascua Florida” which means flowery Easter (FLSenate.gov, 2010).

Following the discovery of Florida, Ponce de Leon and his crew headed back for Puerto Rico. However, before leaving the newly founded land, de Leon and the Native Americans broke into a fight. The reason for the fight is unclear but it’s stated that de Leon was “putting down their rebellions against the Spanish rule” (Enchanted, 1996). Instead of Puerto Rico, the ships headed for Spain where Ponce de Leon was named a Captain General by the King.

Ponce de Leon headed for yet another search for Bimini in 1521 but instead landed on the west coast of Florida. This west-coast-discovery was kept short as they were promptly greeted by Native American warriors who fought de Leon and his crew of 200 arrows and spears. Many men were killed and several more were wounded including de Leon. He later dies in Havana, Cuba from his wounds and was buried in San Juan, Puerto Rico in July of 1521 (Enchanted, 1996).

According to Enchanted Learning (1996), Hernando de Soto was busy exploring the coast of Florida and other islands around the same time as Ponce de Leon. His expeditions include Nicaragua, Peru, Spain, Cuba and Florida. It’s cited that de Soto “arrived on the west coast of Florida on May 30, 1539 with 10 ships carrying over 600 soldiers, priests, and explorers.” De Soto spent the winter of 1539 in present day Tallahassee then resumed his journey over the southeast, crossing the Mississippi river two times (FLSenate.gov, 2010). The reason for this journey was the hopes of finding silver and gold, exploring the area, and brutally fighting (and killing) Native American societies. Hernando de Soto later died in 1542 during an exploration with a crew of only 300 men. He was buried along the banks of the Mississippi River and the remaining crew set sail for Cuba.

Another explorer that graced the coast of Florida is “Estevanico” – also known as Esteban Dorantes – whom was a Muslim slave from Azamor, Morocco. In 1528 Dorantes and his slave owner Andres Dorantes de Carranza set sail for Tampa Bay, Florida. Along the way, the explorers and their crew ran into several hurricanes and fought the Native Americans. These fights killed most of the crew so the pilot of the ship sailed to Mexico to abandon the men and get away from the Native Americans. Dorantes was able to escape and went on several more discoveries before he finally settled into Mexico City where he later “sold as a slave and killed by Zuni Indians as he entered their pueblo” (Enchanted, 1996).

Bringing present day Europe into the picture, France was among the first to make the trip to the Americas. In 1562 the French landed on the coast of Florida under Jean Ribault’s order. “With a fleet of 150 colonists, the ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean and explored the mouth of the St. John’s River – known today as Jacksonville” (FLSenate.gov, 2010). “A stone monument was erected on land as proof of the French claim to the land” (US History.com, 2010). Ribault’s crew left Florida and set sail for the Sea Islands of present day South Carolina.

As the years passed, the coasts of Florida continued being landed upon by explorers from around the globe. Most were in search of riches in the form of gold or silver, but few came ashore simply to explore the land and brawl with the Native Americans to gain control of the land. Originally, Spain is credited with the conquering and control of Florida but ultimately England emerged as the control center.

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Florida Explorers

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Grade Level: Fourth
Discipline: American History
Specific Lesson Topic: Identifying explorers who came to Florida and the motivations behind their Expeditions
By: Tiffany Yeomans