Friday, October 2, 2009
DeSoto exploration unit
The collection I added to itunesU is called “DeSoto in America”. The resources that support my unit are primary source accounts from DeSoto’s contemporaries (http://www.nps.gov/archive/deso/chronicles/), maps from the era in which DeSoto lived (http://www.floridahistory.com/inset13.html), and a google earth representation of DeSoto’s trails (http://www.desototrails.com/). For a unit on DeSoto, I would use the itunesU clips to introduce the students to the explorer and get them motivated to learn more about what he did and why he did it. The clips are very entertaining and provide a general overview of DeSoto’s path, interactions with natives, and relationship with his men. As part of this unit, I would incorporate the primary sources of accounts of some of the men traveling with DeSoto to compare to the video. With this, students will be able to see how the podcast portrays some things differently than the primary source, and they will also have a real life connection with DeSoto and his men. With the primary sources, students can participate in a document analysis to reveal what life on DeSoto’s exploration was like. Using contemporary maps, students can see why DeSoto’s path was so convoluted and they can appreciate why he made the decisions he did. They can also see why he believed the land he was exploring was just a small island, giving them historical perspective and letting them evaluate the primary sources, and the video, in a new light. Finally, using google earth technology, students can follow DeSoto’s path down to the most intricate detail. Document analysis is one of the most important tools for the historian and having the students expose the differences between the primary source and the secondary source can help build their critical thinking skills and more actively involve them in learning.
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Exploring Florida's history is an important part of Geography. My practicum class just began a unit on Florida and we introduced DeSoto in our lesson. I think your use of maps is a great idea and especially comparing the maps from then to the maps we have today. Letting students see the path he took is a way to let them interact with the lesson as well. You may also want to bring in some Florida indian sources to compare and contrast how both parties felt during the exploration of Florida.
ReplyDeleteI like that you'd be able to bring something that seems so far removed from "the now" to life. I don't know much about explorers, or Florida history, really, so I think that podcasts would be a good resource for someone like me to use in class and learn something myself.
ReplyDeleteThe good thing about teaching this is that much of the terrain looks a lot like it did when Desoto came here many years ago. While I'm sure google earth would allow you to see some of his landmarks, you could include some pictures of the trail along the Mississippi to really get the message across. The Florida ItunesU videos of Desoto are great.
ReplyDeleteI love the DeSoto thing and I think students would be really interested in Florida history. I like the use of Google Earth in this since it can give kids a real look at what DeSoto went through. Something you could try to do is maybe organize a field trip to a site on the trail and take the kids there to show them the terrain (if it's not a paved highway) to let them really get a feel.
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