FloridaLisa Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I live in the county which just may be the seat of all [European] Florida history. But I've never done any formal Florida history with my kids. I know of two resources but I'd love to know of others you've used. The Land Remembered, student version. I've only read the adult book. How appropriate is this student book for a 5th grader? Or read aloud to a 3rd grader? Strawberry Girl, by Lois Lenski. Such a great fictional story of a cracker Florida family. What other books, movies, cant-be-missed field trips (no matter where you live in Florida; we have family all over and we're willing to travel) would you recommend? I have some great field trips to share as well but I want to see what everyone offers up as their best. Thanks! Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eloise24 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Listening here . . . I grew up in NY so Florida history is a foreign concept to me. Love Strawberry Girl though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 A book I read in high school: The Everglades, River of Grass by Majory Stoneman Douglas. I thought I would hate it but I loved it. It would then be great for a field trip of the Everglades. I remember reading Strawberry Girl when I was younger but now I can't remember it. Plenty of strawberry fields to explore. Top field trips: beach(es), Kennedy Space Center, Key West with lots of Ernest Hemmingway correlation or scuba diving. Other field trips are dependent on the city someone is visiting. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 A book I read in high school: The Everglades, River of Grass by Majory Stoneman Douglas. I thought I would hate it but I loved it. It would then be great for a field trip of the Everglades. That book has always been on my list, but so far down that I never get there. She's a heroine for my parents, who have given a lot (mostly time, volunteer work, political support, etc) to preserving the real Florida. But, ugh, I though maybe it would read super slow. She was a firecracker that's for sure! Lisa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 That book has always been on my list, but so far down that I never get there. She's a heroine for my parents, who have given a lot (mostly time, volunteer work, political support, etc) to preserving the real Florida. But, ugh, I though maybe it would read super slow. She was a firecracker that's for sure! Lisa Well, I only read it because it was required reading in high school. But it was super excellent. Maybe you can get an audio version from the library and just listen to it? It talked about the history of the Everglades and development and overdevelopment of South Florida, the impact on all the agriculture on the ecosystem, and how important the Everglades is (which I always just saw as just a boring wetlands). That being said, it's been a few years to forget about any boring bits. :laugh: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I've used the following website as a resource in teaching Florida history both at home and at co-op: Florida Then and Now. It has a variety of links--reading passages for a variety of topics, teacher plans and student questions. I find the teacher plans/questions a little too classroom-oriented, but the reading passages are very good. Also, book-wise these have been useful: The Timucua Indians and It Happened in Florida. St. Augustine is of course a wealth of Florida history info. Great field trips include the Castillo, of course, plus the Old Florida Museum (can't find a link to this one--I hope it's still there, it's one of my favorites!) and the Colonial Quarter. If you do the Colonial Quarter, also do the Pirate and Treasure Museum. Not quite as history-oriented, but still a fun place to visit. There's also the St. Augustine Lighthouse and Ft. Matanzas. Oh, and I almost forgot Fort Mose. A little farther away is Barberville Pioneer Settlement. I can personally vouch for all of these trips. I don't know about my kids or the kids I've taken, but I'VE sure learned a lot! Hopefully that's enough to get you started . . . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2att Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I thought of a couple more--in Jacksonville: Fort Caroline Kingsley Plantation and the long-standing Currents of Time exhibit at MOSH is a great "walk" through Florida history. Also, the Jacksonville Historical Society has a Gingerbread Extravaganza at Christmas time at historic St. Andrews church. Right next door to the church is a restored 19th Century home--The Merrill House. Society members conduct fabulous tours through this house at set times during the Gingerbread Extravaganza. The time we went we had just missed the last tour of the day, so one of the docents gave our family a private tour. It was amazing! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasharowan Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 The Barefoot Mailman by Theodore Pratt tells of a mailman walking between Titusville and Miami when they were the only settlements bigger than 10 people on the East coast. Suitable for about 6th grade and older. Fort Christmas between Titusville and Orlando has a small, free museum on the Seminole Indian War. Also some reenactments through the year. I second all the recommendations for St. Augustine. Tampa, Tallahassee, and Gainesville all have good museums and historical areas. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 We did a year of FL history when my kids were in 4th and 2nd grades. I highly recommend The Land Remembered, but only the Student version for kids. We did it as a read aloud at those ages, and my DS has since re-read it several times on his own. The adult version is inappropriate for kids, and I felt that the 2nd volume of the student edition bordered on verbose and boring, so we did just volume 1. Our library had both volumes of the student version. We also used the "Florida: Then and Now" articles as a history spine that year. We didn't do all of the questions or writing, just read through the articles. Some of the history books we really enjoyed: Illustrated Florida History by Jim Robe Native Americans in Florida by Kevin McCarthy Journeys with Florida's Indians by Kelley Weitzel The Timucua Indians: A Native American Detective Story by Kelley Weitzel Read Alouds we read that year (either set in Florida or historical fiction): The Tale of the Swamp Rat by Carter Crocker Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamilio Saving Home by Judy Lindquist A Land Remembered, Student version, Volume 1 by Patrick D. Smith A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole Escape to the Everglades by Edwina Raffa and Annelle Rigsby Kidnapped in Key West by Edwina Raffa and Annelle Rigsby Solomon by Marilyn Bishop Shaw The Adventures of Charlie Pierce (2 volumes) by Harvey Oyer Tasso of Tarpon Springs by Maity Schrecengost Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski abridged version of The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, retold by Coleen Degnan-Veness The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limboo by Jean Craighead George The Spy Who Came In From the Sea by Peggy Nolan This doesn't include all of the books we borrowed from the library. If you are interested, I have a schedule with a master book list that I'd be happy to share. We took field trips that year to St. Augustine, Kennedy Space Center, the Tampa History Museum, Tarpon Springs sponge docks and museum, The Florida Caverns, the Capitol buildings in Tallahassee, Florida Museum of Natural History, Mission de San Luis, Key West, the Ah-Tha-Ti-Ki Seminole museum, the Battle of Olustee re-enactment, the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Ft. DeSoto, and the Henry Plant museum. We worked historical field trips into our vacation time and took a couple trips with my DH when he traveled for business, plus we had grandparents living in Tallahassee at the time. We live in Tampa, so some of what we did was local. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
displace Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 We did a year of FL history when my kids were in 4th and 2nd grades. I highly recommend The Land Remembered, but only the Student version for kids. We did it as a read aloud at those ages, and my DS has since re-read it several times on his own. The adult version is inappropriate for kids, and I felt that the 2nd volume of the student edition bordered on verbose and boring, so we did just volume 1. Our library had both volumes of the student version. We also used the "Florida: Then and Now" articles as a history spine that year. We didn't do all of the questions or writing, just read through the articles. Some of the history books we really enjoyed: Illustrated Florida History by Jim Robe Native Americans in Florida by Kevin McCarthy Journeys with Florida's Indians by Kelley Weitzel The Timucua Indians: A Native American Detective Story by Kelley Weitzel Read Alouds we read that year (either set in Florida or historical fiction): The Tale of the Swamp Rat by Carter Crocker Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamilio Saving Home by Judy Lindquist A Land Remembered, Student version, Volume 1 by Patrick D. Smith A Nest for Celeste by Henry Cole Escape to the Everglades by Edwina Raffa and Annelle Rigsby Kidnapped in Key West by Edwina Raffa and Annelle Rigsby Solomon by Marilyn Bishop Shaw The Adventures of Charlie Pierce (2 volumes) by Harvey Oyer Tasso of Tarpon Springs by Maity Schrecengost Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski abridged version of The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, retold by Coleen Degnan-Veness The Missing Gator of Gumbo Limboo by Jean Craighead George The Spy Who Came In From the Sea by Peggy Nolan This doesn't include all of the books we borrowed from the library. If you are interested, I have a schedule with a master book list that I'd be happy to share. We took field trips that year to St. Augustine, Kennedy Space Center, the Tampa History Museum, Tarpon Springs sponge docks and museum, The Florida Caverns, the Capitol buildings in Tallahassee, Florida Museum of Natural History, Mission de San Luis, Key West, the Ah-Tha-Ti-Ki Seminole museum, the Battle of Olustee re-enactment, the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Ft. DeSoto, and the Henry Plant museum. We worked historical field trips into our vacation time and took a couple trips with my DH when he traveled for business, plus we had grandparents living in Tallahassee at the time. We live in Tampa, so some of what we did was local. Wow! That's impressive! And to think when we go to the zoo I feel like I've done a lot!! PS. We're neighbors! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaLisa Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 I've never been to the Tarpon sponge docks but I've always wanted to go! Thanks for the wonderful booklist. We've collected lots of adult books with Old Florida tales, so I appreciate books for the youngers. Lisa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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