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Florida Then & Now is a set of reproducible readings, questions, and activity sheets for an upper elementary study of Florida History. The PDF files are designed to print and photocopy well. Most of the reading passages are two pages with alternating margins so they can be printed front and back and hole-punched. Each reading is accompanied by a page of "FCAT-like" questions. The teacher notes include suggested activities and a variety of reading strategies for use with the passages. Please note that the passages are written at students' instructional level, not their independent reading level. The questions should not be given to elementary students until after instruction on the vocabulary and content. If you are unable to view the PDF files, download the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe.

A Short History of Florida

• The Calusa: "The Shell Indians"
• The Timucua
• The Tocobaga Indians of Tampa Bay
• The Tequesta Indians of Biscayne Bay
• The Apalachee of Northwest Florida
• Ponce de León: Florida's First Spanish Explorer
• The Misadventures of Pánfilo de Narváez and Nunez de Cadeza de Vaca
• Hernando de Soto Arrives and Explores Florida
• Jean Ribault Claims Florida for France
• Pedro Menendez de Aviles Claims Florida for Spain
• Sir Francis Drake
• African-Americans Settle in Fort Mose
• Transfer of Florida
• The Seminole Wars
• Florida's Role in the Civil War: "Supplier of the Confederacy"
• Reconstruction
• Florida's Economy Booms
• Growth of Florida's Railroads
• Spanish-American War for Cuba's Independence
• Florida's Land Boom
• Great Depression and the New Deal
• Florida During World War II
• Cape Canaveral: Launchpad to the Stars
• Civil Rights Movement in Florida

Supplemental Florida Reading Passages

• Florida's Historic Attractions
• Cattle and Cowboys in Florida
• Florida: Home to a Diverse Population
• Florida Caverns State Park
• The Florida Everglades
• Florida's Famous Lighthouses
• Florida's Shipwrecks and Treasures
• Florida's Local Government
• Florida's State Government
• Hurricanes in Florida
• The Suwannee River
• Symbols of Florida
• Tourism in Florida
• Florida's Land Then and Now
• Florida's Water Then and Now

Florida's Historic Places

• Historic Bok Sanctuary
• The Cedar Keys
• Fernandina and Amelia Island
• Miami
• Pensacola
• St. Augustine
• Tallahassee
• Tarpon Springs
• Ybor City

Famous Floridians

• John James Audubon
• William Bartram
• Thomas Alva Edison
• Henry Morrison Flagler
• Dr. John Gorrie
• Ernest Hemingway
• Winslow Homer
• Zora Neale Hurston
• James Weldon Johnson
• Jacques Lamoyne
• Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
• John Ringling
• Harriet Beecher Stowe

Primary Source Documents

• About Florida Oranges
• Our Experiences in Crops
• The Grand Tour up River
• From Mandarin to St. Augustine
• St. Augustine
• The Wrong Side of Tapestry
• Attack of the Panther
• Waiting at Live Oak
• Orange Song
• Plant a Tree
• How much does it cost to winter in Florida in 1924?
• Florida has added five years to my life

Exploring Florida: A Social Studies Resource for Students and Teachers
Produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
College of Education, University of South Florida © 2004.