Disclaimer: While every precaution was taken to insure the integrity of the sites included in this lesson plan, with the dynamic nature of the World Wide Web sites can constantly change. Teachers are advised to view the sites before conducting a lesson with their students.
This lesson is designed for fifth grade because the subject area focuses upon the discovery of the United States during the Lewis and Clark era. However, any intermediate grade can use these lessons if they are doing a specific unit on Lewis and Clark or U.S. explorers.
In this lesson, students will learn about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Specifically, how it began, who's idea it was in the first place, the trip's purpose, equipment taken on the trip, as well as Lewis' and Clark's accomplishments and set-backs. The following activities will connect you and your class with some interesting and motivating sites about the Lewis and Clark expedition including a complete timeline of the events as they took place nearly two hundred years ago. Also included in this lesson are pictures and information from the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in Great Falls, Montana that were collected by the author of the lesson on her trip to Montana in July of 1999.
Site One: Inside the Corps
1. The URL address is http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/intro.html
2. Inside the Corps gives a brief description of
how Thomas Jefferson initiated the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The
site also connects you with a link entitled Circa
1803
Students will read the introduction paragraph and the
Living in America section paragraph by paragraph. At the end of the
first two paragraphs, students will discuss with a partner one sentence
that would best describe the main idea of those paragraphs. Students
will then record their sentences on a Word document. Students will
then read the next section entitled Living in America with partners or
as a class. Then repeat the discussion of a main idea and record
it on their Word document. In the second section entitled Navigating
Towards Commerce, students will read the entire section and then write
a paragraph in Word answering the following question: Why was Thomas
Jefferson feeling pressure to find a way to control the trading port of
New Orleans for the United States? (see paragraphs 16 & 17)
The next section is entitled The Idea of the West.
Have students read paragraphs 3 through 7. Continue paraphrasing
what is learned on the Word document. Continue this process with
the remainder of the article. Don't forget to type the main ideas
on the Word document as you go.
Finally, students will then use their personal map of
the U.S. to outline the trail of the Lewis and Clark Expedition to the
West and back.
Site Two: To Equip an Expedition
1. The URL address is http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/equip.html
2. This site provides readers with a list of only
a sampling of the supplies taken west on the Expedition including, mathematical
instruments, camp supplies, presents for indians, clothing, arms and ammunition,
and medical supplies. Students will first peruse the various lists
of supplies. Then with a partner, they will be assigned one list
by the teacher to infer why those items were taken west and what purpose
could they have served? They should record their inferences in the
same Word document that was used during Site One. Encourage students
to be creative with this activity, but be sure they can support their inferences
with reasoning that makes sense.
Site Three: The Corps
1. The URL address is http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/corps.html
2. This site tells about the thirty-one members
of the Corps of Discovery. Students will read about these members
in the introduction. They will then go to the link entitled Sacagawea
and read about her participation in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Next, students will visit another Sacagawea site at http://www.idptv.state.id.us/1c/sacagawea.html
Then to test their knowledge, they will debate as a class
whether Sacagawea is a hero in their eyes or not. Give students time
to prepare their arguments. If time permits, encourage students to
find other sources (Internet or other) that will support their thinking.
Site One: Wampum
1. The URL address is http.thebeadsite.com/FRO-WAPM.htm
2. This site teaches what Wampum is and why it is the
most written about bead in American History and the world. Students
will read about Wampum. Next, students will make a Venn diagram on
a separate piece of 11x18 construction paper. They will compare and
contrast modern day money with the historical Wampum. Encourage students
to decorate the diagram with pictures of Wampum as described at this site.
Site Two: Trade Bead Misnames and Myths
1. The URL address is http://www.thebeadsite.com/FROINTRO.html
2. This site tells about and shows pictures of
the Lewis and Clark bead as well as other beads of that era. Students
will look at the Lewis and Clark bead and others such as the Russian bead,
French Ambassador bead, and Hubble Bead. Then they will design their
own bead imagining that they have been commissioned to create a new form
of currency that ties to history. They will use paper, crayons, pens,
and pastels as needed. Note: The teacher may want to direct
students' attention to the myth about dream catchers as a slight "bird
walk" for interest sake.
Site Three: The Beads of Lewis and Clark
1. The URL address is http://www.thebeadsite.com/FRO-LaC.htm
2. Students will see a list of all the different
beads that accompanied Lewis and Clark on their Expedition. This
site also notes that the red beads, popular in the Northeast were not fancied
by the Native Americans. Instead, they preferred the inexpensive
and common blue and white beads. At one point, the Corps of Discovery
almost starved until one member found the last remaining blue beads in
his jacket pocket. Students will read all the information and then,
as a class, begin a discussion led by the teacher thinking about the following
questions:
1. The URL address is http://www.thebeadsite.com/CHI-SS.html
2. This site shows pictures of various shells used
as beads. Students will direct their attention to the lower left
picture of the Dentalium or tusk shells. Note that this was the Wampum
of the native people on the Columbia River. Since they had their
own Wampum, what Lewis and Clark brought was useless in this area.
Students will also learn that many shells were naturally meant to become
beads as they were perforated. (They had natural holes for stringing)
This activity will take students on three different tangents. First, students will peruse recreated journal entries from the actual journals of Lewis and Clark from October-December, 1805. Students will also delve a bit deeper into Sacagawea's vital role on the Expedition. To conclude, students will have a wonderful opportunity to lead the Lewis and Clark Expedition at an interactive site. This last site is a perfect way for students to practice their newly acquired knowledge about the Expedition and have a hand in the outcome of the trek.
Site One: Calendar of Journal Entries
1. The URL address is http://www.vpds.wsu.edu/WAHistCult/maps/index.html
2. This site will take students to a map of the Lewis and Clark Trail from October 2-December 5 of 1805. Students will print this map and then go to recreated journal entries for those months. These journal entries were rewritten by students for students so they could have a better understanding of the Expedition as a day to day adventure. Entries are included by Lewis, Clark, and their Native American guide, Sacagawea. This site does a wonderful job of using student friendly language to explain thoughts, feelings, and experiences on the Trail. Students will work with a partner to follow the journals and begin their own Reaction Journal after each month where they will write down their impressions of the month's adventures for Lewis and Clark. This will be done for the months of October, November, and December.
Site Two: Sacagawea, A True American Heroine
1. The URL address is http://www.idptv.state.id.us/lc/sacagawea.html
2. This site is very student friendly and teaches how Sacagawea played such an important role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Students will read the one page research about Sacagawea and then write one paragraph summarizing how Sacagawea played an important role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Students will be expected to use complete sentences. Their paragraph should have a main idea sentence and at least five supporting detail sentences. There should also be one concluding sentence.
Site Three: Into the Unknown
1. The URL address is http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/into/index.html
2. This site takes students on a personal journey with Lewis and Clark "into the unknown". The twist is that students play an active role in the decisions of what to do and where to go on the journey. This is a "choose your own adventure" style, if you will. Students will read and experience the adventure and then choices will be provided for them every so often to decide which path to take. This is a great way to end the unit because it empowers students to use any knowledge they have learned about the Lewis and Clark Expedition as they choose the path for themselves.
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