Florida SS.4.A.3.3
The Standard
Identify the significance of St. Augustine as the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States.
Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for Social Studies
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students place St. Augustine on a Florida map and a timeline. They explain how its founding in 1565, continued occupation, and Spanish role make it historically significant.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student correctly places St. Augustine before Jamestown and Plymouth. The student names Spain, gives 1565, and explains its role in Spanish defense, government, religion, and trade.
Common Misconceptions
- Students often name Jamestown or Plymouth as the earliest European settlement because those places receive more attention. They may think no one lived in Florida before Europeans, overlooking Indigenous communities such as the Timucua.
How to Assess It
- Exit ticket: Put St. Augustine, Jamestown, and Plymouth in order from earliest to latest. Then explain in one sentence why St. Augustine matters.
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Build a floor timeline with cards for St. Augustine, Jamestown, and Plymouth, then add Spanish, English, and Indigenous history markers.
Respond to: Why might St. Augustine be less familiar than Jamestown or Plymouth, even though it began earlier?
Play Timeline Relay: teams order dated event cards for St. Augustine, Jamestown, and Plymouth, then justify each placement.
Use a current St. Augustine map and Castillo de San Marcos photos to identify ways Spanish history still shapes the city.
Free download
Printable SS.4.A.3.3 Worksheet
A ready-to-print activity worksheet aligned to SS.4.A.3.3, with an answer key for the teacher on its own page. No account needed.
PDF, US Letter, prints cleanly in black and white.
Download the worksheetKeep exploring
Related Standards
- SS.4.A.3.5
Identify the significance of Fort Mose as the first free African community in the United States.
- SS.2.A.2.1
Recognize that Native Americans were the first inhabitants in North America.
- SS.4.A.3.7
Identify nations (Spain, France, England) that controlled Florida before it became a United States territory.
- SS.2.A.2.5
Identify reasons people came to the United States throughout history.
Turn this exact standard into a lesson
Grade, subject, topic, and the complete standard are prefilled. Create one free, no account needed.
Also for this standard:Make a WorksheetMake a QuizMake a Sub Lesson