Local History
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?
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
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.
Please note: The reading(s) associated with this lesson is for both teacher content knowledge and student content knowledge development. Teachers are
encouraged to use the readings in their entirety and/or select portions of the reading to best fit the needs and reading levels of their particular students. It
is highly suggested that teachers review the reading(s) thoroughly and adapt the reading(s) and plan instruction using appropriate instructional strategies in
order to maximize student understanding according to their particular students’ abilities.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
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
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Reading Passage: The Tequesta of Biscayne Bay
Five Column Chart
Newspaper Instructions
Newspaper template
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
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.
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
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
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
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
Local History
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
Local History
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCES