When I first moved to fourth grade, I searched everywhere for engaging social studies resources. The book we used was old, dusty, and terribly boring. It had the basics about how the city was founded, but I wanted something my students could relate to and dig their teeth into. I wanted engaging resources in which they could read and respond - and the bottom line is that I needed some social studies grades. Here are some ways and ideas for teaching about colonial St. Augustine.
Build Background Knowledge with Videos
There are not a lot of good student-friendly resources for providing background knowledge about St. Augustine.
Videos
Tour the Colonial Quarter in St Augustine, Florida
This video does a nice job of showing a typical home, a blacksmith job, and reasons for the watchtower. The video is about 4 minutes long.
Meet a Blacksmith in Colonial St. Augustine
This is a six-minute video describing how a blacksmith used fire to make tools and weapons.
St. Augustine 450 -- The Story of St. Augustine's People
This documentary takes the viewer from the life of the Native Americans to the settlers of St. Augustine. It was created by First Coast News and is about 22 minutes long.
Safari Montage
If your school has Safari Montage, check out the video called St. Augustine (Schlesinger Media). Students learn about the history of the town with a girl named Tracey. Tracey (and the viewers) learn about the history and the day-to-day life of the colonists.
Castillo de San Marcos
The National Parks Service has created a list of videos and pictures for guests. There are 21 short documentary-style videos. Click the picture below to see the list of videos.
Virtual tour Castillo de San Marcos
Castillo de San Marcos virtual tour. Click the picture to check out the free virtual tour.
Read About Colonial St. Augustine and Fort Mose
St. Augustine was founded by the Spanish in 1565, making it older than Jamestown, Virginia, and Plymouth. Like many colonial towns at the time, the residents of St. Augustine had to work together for survival. They depended on one another for protection, shelter, food, clothing, and religion. St. Augustine was vulnerable to attacks from the British, French, and Native Americans. As a result, the Spanish built walls and a fort to protect the city. Your students will enjoy reading about St. Augustine, especially if you have planned a field trip to the city.
Read About Fort Mose
When I first learned about Fort Mose, I was shocked to learn that it was essentially America's first Underground Railroad. At the time, the British controlled the area north of Florida (Georgia, South Carolina), and the Spanish controlled Florida. The Spanish welcomed the slaves from Georgia and South Carolina to escape and find safety in Spanish Florida. The African Americans who came to Florida were granted freedom under 2 conditions:
1. They would convert to Catholicism.
2. They would fight for the Spanish Army.
Fort Mose was located one mile north of St. Augustine. This was the first line of defense against a British attack on the Spanish.
Comprehension Activities
Now that your students have learned about St. Augustine, it's time for them to show what they know.
Data Disk
After researching St. Augustine, students share their newly learned information in an organized, fun graphic organizer.
Fort Mose Task Cards
Social Studies task cards are a fun way to get kids up, moving, and talking about the topic. Place the cards around the room. Students move from card to card, read the information, and answer questions about Fort Mose.
Organizers
Encourage your students to brainstorm facts they learned about about colonial St. Augustine. Topics can include the town of St. Augustine, Fort Mose, women in St. Augustine, men in St. Augustine, and children in St. Augustine. If you do this before and after the unit, students can see how much they've learned.
Brochure
At the end of your St. Augustine unit, assign a St. Augustine brochure for them to show what they know. Students will have to choose relevant information to place in the brochure.
Grab Your FREE St. Augustine Brochure Below!!!
Grab Your FREE St. Augustine Brochure HERE!!!
Quiz
Add a quiz to culminate your unit on colonial St. Augustine. If you place it at the end of the St. Augustine packet, you can allow students to use their notes or rip it off for a typical quiz. It's an easy way for you to grab a grade.
I hope you find some of these ideas useful to your Social Studies unit on colonial St. Augustine. If you're interested in taking a closer look at these resources, click the pictures below for a preview.
