Florida State History | Fort Mose - First Free Black Settlement Readers Theater Script | Grades 3-5

Overview

Travel to Spanish Florida with Joel and Amanda in Fort Mose: The First Free Black Settlement. This Readers Theater script for Grades 3–5 brings history to life as students meet Captain Francisco Menéndez, Governor Montiano, and families who escaped slavery to build a fortified community near St. Augustine.

Students discover how a royal decree created a path to freedom, how Fort Mose became a strategic shield during British threats, and how the community showed resilience by evacuating, planning a surprise counterattack, rebuilding, and making hard choices to stay free.

Perfect For

• Florida history units and standards-based instruction
• Social studies literacy blocks (RI skills in context)
• Readers Theater performances and fluency practice
• Small-group reading, discussion, and collaboration

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What’s Included

(a single PDF with links to Google Docs/Slides, if print format is preferred you can download from your Google Drive to word/pdf/ppt/etc)

• Student Script: Editable, ~10 pages, ~2100 words, 10 scenes, casting breakdown, student intro (DOCX/PDF/Google Doc).
• Teacher Guide: Editable, ~12 pages, lesson tips, main ideas, answer keys, standards, casting with lexical levels (DOCX/PDF/Google Doc).
• Student Worksheet: Editable, ~20 slides, vocabulary (10 terms), short-answer (10), challenge (5), optional extensions (5) (Google Slides/PPTX).
• Self-Graded Exit Quiz: 20 multiple-choice questions (Google Forms).

Teacher’s Script Summary

1. A Time-Travel to Fort Mose: Joel and Amanda learn Fort Mose was the first legally protected free Black settlement near St. Augustine.
2. The King’s Promise: A royal decree explains a path to freedom in Spanish Florida under Spain’s rules.
3. A New Community Forms: Governor Montiano establishes Fort Mose, and Captain Francisco Menéndez helps lead and defend the community.
4. Life at Fort Mose: Families work, worship, and train to protect their freedom while Fort Mose serves as a shield for St. Augustine.
5. The British Threat: James Oglethorpe plans to take Fort Mose first to pressure Spanish Florida.
6. Evacuation and a Plan: Residents evacuate to St. Augustine while Spain and the militia plan a surprise counterattack.
7. The Battle to Take Fort Mose Back: Before dawn, the militia and Spanish allies strike, drive the British back, and the fort is badly damaged.
8. Rebuilding and a Final Farewell: The fort is rebuilt, but residents leave with Spain when Britain takes Florida to stay free.
9. Fort Mose Today: A state park and replica fort help visitors learn Fort Mose’s story and its lasting impact.
10. Lessons from Fort Mose: Joel and Amanda reflect that freedom takes courage, unity, resilience, and hard choices to protect.

Standards Addressed

Florida State Standards

• Florida SS.4.A.3.5: Students identify the significance of Fort Mose as the first free African community in the United States (e.g., SAQ 1–6, Quiz Q 3–10).
• Florida SS.4.A.3.3: Students connect Fort Mose’s story to St. Augustine as Spain’s major stronghold in Florida (e.g., SAQ 4, SAQ 8, Quiz Q 13–14).

CCSS

• RL.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• RL.4.2: Determine a theme of a story, drama, or poem from details in the text; summarize the text.
• RL.4.3: Describe in depth a character, setting, or event in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., a character’s thoughts, words, or actions).
• RI.4.1: Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
• RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.
• RI.4.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
• RF.4.4: Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
• SL.4.4: Report on a topic or text in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant details; speak clearly at an understandable pace.
• L.4.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases based on grade 4 reading and content, choosing flexibly from a range of strategies.

CCRA

• CCRA.R.1: Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence.
• CCRA.R.2: Determine central ideas or themes of a text and analyze their development; summarize key supporting details and ideas.
• CCRA.R.3: Analyze how and why individuals, events, and ideas develop and interact over the course of a text.
• CCRA.W.2: Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas and information clearly and accurately.
• CCRA.SL.1: Prepare for and participate effectively in a range of conversations and collaborations.
• CCRA.L.4: Determine or clarify the meaning of unknown and multiple-meaning words and phrases by using context clues and word parts.