4th Grade Florida History

Tequesta Burial Grounds - What this archaeological site can teach us about some of Florida's first inhabitants.

Essential Question

What does this archaeological site teach us about some of Florida's earliest inhabitants?

Tequesta Burial Grounds

Florida literacy Standards Alignment:

LAFS.4.W.1.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly.

LAFS.4.W.1.2 b Develop the topic with facts, definitions, concrete details, quotations, or other information and examples related to the topic.

LAFS.4.RI.1.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawinginferences from the text.

LAFS.4.RI.2.4 Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.

LAFS.4.W.3.7 Conduct short research projects that build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

NGSSS -Social Science Standards Alignment:

SS.4.A.6.3 Describe the contributions of significant individuals to Florida

SS.4.A.1.1 Analyze primary and secondary resources to identify significant individuals and events throughout Florida history.

SS.4.A.1.2 Synthesize information related to Florida history through print and electronic media.

Topic: Tequesta Burial Grounds

Essential Question

What does this archaeological site teach us about some of Florida's earliest inhabitants?

Learning Goals

Students will learn about the Tequesta Tribe, one of the five major Native American Tribes in Florida's early history. They will also learn what archaeology is and the importance it plays in learning about the past.

Overview

Students will research the Tequesta Tribe and the Miami Circle using technological tools. They will write a news report about the archaeological site and the Tequesta Tribe. News articles should include facts, details, and examples. Students will publish their article using the newspaper template.

Background information

Background Information: The Tequesta were a powerful Indian tribe whose main village was at the mouth of the Miami River. What we know about the tribe comes both from Spanish accounts dating to the sixteenth century and archaeological excavations done in recent decades at the Miami Circle.(www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org)

Materials

·  Reading Passage: The Tequesta of Biscayne Bay

·  Five Column Chart

·  Newspaper Instructions

·  Newspaper template

Activity Sequence

Day 1: Introduction

1. Open link to the websitehttp://www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org/florida-indian-trail-miamicircle.htm

and use as an interactive introduction to the Tequesta tribe.

2. Students will fill in a graphic organizer including the 5 W's ( Who, What, Where, When, Why) as the information is presented. Allow students to work with a partner to revisit the preselected links with information on the Tequesta Tribe. They may use this information to complete their graphic organizer. Provide a copy of the article for students as well. fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/tequest/tequest1.htm

Day 2: Building Background Knowledge and Making Connections

1. Open link to the website www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org/miamicircle.html

2. Explain to students what archaeology is and how it helps us learn about the past through artifacts. Navigate through the website by clicking the arrows and have students read out about what is now known as the Miami Circle.

Day 3: Activity

1. Hand out a copy of the newspaper article template. Explain to students that they will be using their notes from their graphic organizer to write a news article about the Miami Circle and what they learned about the Tequesta Tribe. (Teachers can connect this to informational writing as an authentic task).

2. Teacher will present a news article on the Miami Circle to the class as an example. From there students will be given to write their news article.

Day 4 and 5

1.  Allow students time to continue work on their newspaper article.

2.  Allow students to select one artifact for the Tequesta Tribe and create a model.

References for links

http://www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org/florida-indian-trail-miamicircle.htm

http://www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org/miamicircle.htm

fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/tequest/tequest1.htm

info.flheritage.com/miami-circle


Reading:

The Tequesta of Biscayne Bay

Source: fcit.usf.edu/florida/lessons/tequest/tequest1.htm

The Tequesta (tuh-KES-tuh) were a small, peaceful, Native American tribe. They were one of the first tribes in South Florida and they settled near Biscayne Bay in the present-day Miami area. They built many villages at the mouth of the Miami River and along the coastal islands. The chief lived in the main village at the mouth of the Miami River.

Like the other tribes in South Florida, the Tequesta were hunters and gatherers. They relied mainly on fish, shellfish, nuts, and berries for food. The men caught sharks, sailfish, sea cows, and porpoises in the waters of Biscayne Bay and the Miami River, while the women and children collected clams, conchs, oysters, and turtle eggs in the shallow waters. The sea cow (manatee) was considered a delicacy and served mainly to the chiefs and other prominent leaders.

The Tequesta also gathered palmetto berries, coco plums, sea grapes, and palm nuts to eat. In the Everglades, they hunted bear, deer, wild boar, and small mammals. The Tequesta made flour by grinding up the roots of certain plants. Unfortunately, these food sources were not very plentiful along the southern coast, so the Tequesta never became a large or powerful tribe compared to their western neighbors, the Calusa.

The Tequesta used shells and sharks' teeth for a variety of tools. These included hammers, chisels, fishhooks, drinking cups, and spearheads. Sharks' teeth were used to carve out logs to make canoes.

During the 1500s, Europeans began arriving in Florida. At first, the Tequesta did not welcome these new visitors. But before long, the Europeans won their friendship by bringing gifts of colored cloth, knives, and rum.

The Tequesta numbered about 800, but they started to die out as a result of settlement battles, slavery, and disease. By the 1800s, the Tequesta tribe had only a few survivors.

DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES