More From Tallahassee's Past

We had a great time looking at old pictures of FSU, and comparing and contrasting past FSU to present FSU on Edmodo. As we continue to talk about changes in our community, I wanted to share some more pictures I found online of "old" Tallahassee. Enjoy!

 Apalachee Parkway 

(I learned this used to be referred to as the "Jacksonville Highway")

This is a view driving towards the capitol.

It looks a lot different now!

McDonald's on Tennessee St.

The "Golden Arch" does not look like that anymore!

Are my eyes deceiving me, or does that sign say hamburgers are 15 cents???

Will 15 cents buy us anything anymore?

A historic restaurant that sadly closed its doors a few years ago: The Silver Slipper.

Some of you may have had the chance to eat here before it closed. 

If so, you know the sign did not look like that when you went there!

A Piece of Our Community

Whether you love FSU (like Mrs. Owen) or hate FSU (like a few Gator lovers in our classes), there is one thing we as Tallahasseeans cannot escape: the fact that it is a major part of our community.

As we dive into the 2nd lesson of our unit, Communities Across Time, we want to take some time to not only learn about the communities talked about in our Imagine It book, but to also look at our own community.

We talked a lot last week about things we thought may have been in place of some of the houses and businesses we have here today (the students said trees, Native American camps, or even the old wooden houses we have seen pictures of in movies and books.) We also discussed changes in our community in the last few years: road construction by Lake Jackson, houses being built, even houses being sold in our neighborhoods! We talked about the changes in the Tallahassee Mall the past few years and how that has affected our community as well.

So, back to my original statement about FSU. I promised the class I would do some research and find some pictures of "old time" Tallahassee. I figured a great place to start would be with Florida State, as the university has a ton of history just waiting to be explored. Here are some things I have found:

FSU's origins began as "The West Florida Seminary" back in the 1880s. This building was located where the modern day Wescott building stands.

The Wescott Building in the past. 

I'm not sure the date of this picture, but if you look closely, you can see a car parked in the right hand corner. You cannot drive up to the Wescott Building anymore. You have to park in a designated area, and there are bricks all around the fountain, honoring graduates (Mrs. Owen actually has one there representing her graduating class. It was a gift from one of her professors!)

 Modern day Wescott. 

You can see what I was talking about earlier. All brick, and there is now a large marble plaque in front of the fountain.

Chemistry students in the early 1900s at FSU

Engineering students learning about surveying in the early 1900s. 

Do students still dress like this when they go to class?

Florida State Football then (circa 1902. Also, they were called Florida State College)

Florida State Football now... what a difference a 100 years makes!

And here is a MAJOR change in our community we were all a part of! 

The retirement of Bobby Bowden! 

Here is Bobby with FSU's new head coach Jimbo Fisher. We witnessed history, folks!

It's a baby....

I promised the kids I would post on the blog tonight whether Baby Owen is a boy or a girl. They all knew I had to leave early today to find out, and were anxious to hear the news (they've been speculating and coming up with names ever since they found out I was having a baby!)

 So... the verdict is in, and we are having a GIRL!

Our New Unit

Can you believe we are already on Unit 5 this week? It seems like this school year is flying by in front of our eyes!

Our new unit is called Communities Across Time. If you check out your child's Edmodo account (www.edmodo.com) you will see there is a poll asking if the students think their community has changed over time. We will have fun seeing what they say and using this unit as a social studies extension to research how Tallahassee and the Lake Jackson area has changed over time.

As we are all aware, FCAT is coming soon! We have completed a lot of FCAT practice together in class in both the whole class setting and in small groups settings during center time. We are now moving into more independent work with FCAT to really begin preparing for the test to come. Expect some FCAT practice pages to come home for homework, and even a few to be posted on Edmodo. We will begin taking an FCAT Practice test every Wednesday for a grade. Please be on the lookout for these to come home in the Monday Folders. Please look over these and go over them with your child. The graded tests will help give you an insight as to what types of questions your child may be struggling with, and can help you pinpoint skills you may want to work on with your child at home.