Juan Moves to Florida! By Serena Utz

Content Area: 4th grade Social Studies

Serena Utz

RED 6545

For Juan, Florida was a

new and intimidating

place. He wasn‟t sure

how he felt about

moving here! He was

used to living in Puerto

Rico with his family.

Juan had only visited

Florida a few times to

see his Aunt

Carmen, who had taken

him to Disney World.

Other than that, he

didn‟t see what the fuss

was about Florida!

Have you or anyone you know been in this

situation before? How might you feel? How

much do you think Juan knows about

Florida? Turn and talk with your shoulder

partner.

Juan wanted to know.

He was used to

knowing everyone and

everything about

where he was from.

How might you describe Juan‟s character?

Can you relate to how he may feel? What are

some special things about Florida that you

think Juan should learn about? Try and think of

qualities that are only unique to Florida.

Juan‟s Aunt Carmen kept telling him how much he would love the “Sunshine State.” Juan didn‟t understand why they kept calling it the Sunshine State and not just Florida? His cousins kept saying how they couldn‟t wait to take him to the beach and to see the sand. “What‟s so special about the beach?” said Juan. “Puerto Rico has beaches and sand, too!” he grumbled under his breath. He was not looking forward to having to make new friends and move to a brand new place. Plus, he didn‟t feel like he was very good at speaking English. He didn‟t want his new classmates to make fun of him!

Why do you think

Florida is called the

“Sunshine State?”

Talk with your

shoulder partner. How

might Florida beaches

differ from beaches in

other places?

Juan and his family flew into Florida on an extremely sunny, sweltering

Saturday in August. Juan‟s Aunt Carmen and his cousins picked him

and his younger sister Paola up from the airport, along with Juan‟s

parents. As Juan‟s parents chatted with Aunt Carmen in the car on the

way home, Juan couldn‟t help but notice these rows of trees outside of

the window. “Aunt Carmen, what are all those rows of trees for?” Juan

inquired. “They‟re everywhere!”

What do you

think these are?

Have you ever

seen these

before? What do

you notice

hanging from the

trees?

Mmmm, I love orange juice! Juan thought to himself. Maybe Florida won‟t be such a bad place if they have such a delicious drink as their official drink!

“Yeah!” piped in Juan‟s

cousin Miguel. “The

orange groves produce

oranges, which are

used to make orange

juice! Did you know it‟s

Florida‟s state drink?!”

What does Miguel mean

when he says that orange

juice is “Florida‟s state

drink”?

Juan began to think. “Hey Miguel, does

Florida have any other cool things like that?”

Miguel didn‟t quite understand Juan‟s

question. “Do you mean what other drinks

does Florida have?” “No!” Juan exclaimed.

“What‟s that term you used before, you said

„state drink‟?”

What do you think Juan is trying to ask Miguel? What

does it mean to have a „state drink‟? Are there other

things you can think of that are labeled in that way?

“Ohhhh, now I get what you‟re saying! You‟re asking me about

Florida‟s state symbols!” Miguel exclaimed. “Florida has unique

features, just like other states in the United States. But if you ask

me, Florida has the best symbols.” Now Juan was really curious.

“Like what other kind of symbols? Like does Florida have a state

color?” asked Juan. Aunt Carmen chuckled and popped into the

conversation. “Juan, Florida has a lot state symbols, but there

isn‟t a „state‟ favorite for everything. Florida has a state flag, for

example. It‟s special to the history of Florida!”

What do you know about Florida‟s

state flag? Have you seen it before?

What other state symbols do you

think Florida has?

“One of our state animals is the alligator!” Miguel informed Juan.

“This reptile can be really dangerous, and they are all over

Florida!”

“Yeah, but the alligator isn’t nearly as important as the Florida Panther!” argued Rosa. “We may have a state reptile, but this is the state ANIMAL

of Florida!”

Juan was feeling a little

overwhelmed. “Aunt Carmen, how

many different state symbols does

Florida have?” he asked. “Who

decides what becomes a state

symbol and what doesn‟t?”

Who do you think decides what is and isn‟t a state symbol? How do you

think certain symbols get picked? What kinds of step might this process

involve? Talk your ideas out with your shoulder partner.

“Well, Florida has several different state symbols,” Aunt Carmen

explained. “Like Miguel and Rosa mentioned, Florida has a state

drink and state animals. Florida also has a state flag, which has

a special seal.” “Wait,” Paola interrupted. “Like the animal the

seal?” Aunt Carmen laughed. “No, silly! The seal on Florida‟s flag

is a special design that describes Florida. It has a lot to do with

the history of Florida, and was first created in 1868!”

What do you notice about Florida‟s

state seal? Do you recognize the

phrase „In God We Trust‟ from

anywhere else? What in this picture

looks familiar to you? In your opinion,

do you think the seal is an accurate

representation of Florida‟s unique

features?

“But who decides what

becomes a state

symbol?” Juan asked.

“Can anyone just

decide?”

What are your thoughts?

Can anyone just decide

what will be considered a

state symbol?

“Not just anyone can decide what is and isn‟t a state

symbol of Florida. All of Florida‟s state symbols have one

thing in common: they all say something special about our

State. It‟s up to the Florida legislature to decide what

symbols in Florida become official,” Aunt Carmen explained

in further detail. Juan thought for a minute. “So, these

symbols show other people and states what is special

about Florida. When did the Florida legislature pick these

symbols?”

What is the Florida legislature? What do

you think they do? How do you think they

vote on whether to accept or reject a state

symbol?

“To be honest with you, I don‟t know the exact dates of when the Florida legislature voted to accept state symbols,” Aunt Carmen admitted. “However, because our state symbols have to do with the history of Florida, some of the symbols were decided a really long time ago! I know for a fact that Florida‟s state flower, the orange blossom, has been official since 1909,” Aunt Carmen explain enthusiastically. “You may want to ask your teacher when you start on Monday,” Miguel suggested. “My teacher showed us some really cool videos on Florida history when I first started at my school. I like Florida a lot more know that I know more about it!” Miguel added.

Juan gazed out the window.

He didn‟t realize how much

time had passed since they

had left the airport. He had

been so involved in the

conversation with his family!

Maybe Florida won‟t be so

bad, he thought to himself.

Maybe Florida really does

have a lot of great things to

offer me, even though it‟s not

what I‟m used to. He smiled

and leaned closer towards the

window so that he could get a

better view of the orange

groves zooming past.

“Welcome to the Sunshine

State,” he murmured softly

with a smile.

Talk with your shoulder partner

about how Juan feels now as

compared to the beginning of the

story. How have his feelings

changed? What are some of the

new things Juan learned about

Florida?

• State seal

• State flag

• State animal

• State flower

• Official

• Florida

• “Sunshine State”

• Symbol

• Legislature

• S.S.4.A.1.2 Synthesize information related to Florida

history through print and electronic media.

• 4.RL.1 Refer to details and examples in a text when

explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing

inferences from the text.

• 4.RI.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.