Clash of Cultures Activity
OBJECTIVES
Students will be able to identify and describe uses for three plants: grape vine, sabal palm, and spanish moss.
AGE
3rd-5th grade
ENHANCES
SC.G.1.2.1, ,SC.G.2.2.2, SS.B.2.2.2, SS.B.2.2.3
TIME AND PLACE
Classroom post-visit activity, 30 minutes. Before your fieldtrip, read the procedure section of this activity to help you prepare students for this activity.
WORKSHEET
Plants pdf (109k)
This file must be viewed using Adobe Acrobat Reader. To download this program (free), click here.
BACKGROUND
The Timucua Indians had to rely upon their environment to supply them with everything they needed. They knew which plants in nature were good for medicine, food, for clothing, for building materials, tools, and other uses. Many of the plants used by the Timucua can still be seen in northeast Florida today.
PROCEDURE
When your class visits Fort Caroline make the students aware of their environment as they walk to the fort and along the nature trail. Tell them to step back in time and imagine they are Timucua Indians - how would they make use of the plants they see around them? Brainstorm as you walk the trail or once back in the classroom. The park has a reconstructed Timucua hut on the way to the fort that will help answer this question. There is a section in our visitor center called "Nature's Workshop"; draw the student's attention to this area to get ideas on how the Indians used certain plants. What type of plant is the canoe made out of? Another source for ideas is the le Moyne images in our visitor center. If you decide to walk our nature trail, have the students take turns reading the posted signs to learn about the plants in our area.
EVALUATION
- Muscadine Grape Vine - the exhibit in the visitor center showed grape vine being used for baskets and building materials, as well as food
- Spanish Moss - the le Moyne images depict Timucua women wearing skirts made of moss (which had to be boiled or smoked first to remove the bugs). Moss could also be used as stuffing (to sleep on), for toys (fashioned into dolls), or for a drink (such as tea)
- Sabal Palm - the reconstructed Timucua hut on the way to the fort shows how palm leaves could be used to thatch buildings. One of the most versatile raw materials available, palm leaves could be used to make: a fan, a mat to sit on, woven into a basket, shredded and twisted into rope (example shown in the visitor center), and the heart of the palm (where the leaves grow out) could be boiled and eaten.
