Standards

Goal

Objectives

Procedures

Assessment

Materials Needed

Reflection

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Meriwether Lewis                    William Clark

Goal of this unit: 

Early explorers going west of the Mississippi faced great dangers in unknown territories. With little knowledge of the physical environment; the availability of food, shelter, and clothing; the seasonal weather changes; and the native people's customs and values, their survival skills were limited.
 

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Objectives:

•   By keeping a "journal" of the expedition, the students will be able to describe the conditions of the land in the early 1800s and during the expedition.

•   The students will be able to describe some of the hazards faced by the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition in letters written back home to family and friends.

•  By using a graphic organizer, such as a "t" chart or Venn diagram,  the students will be able to compare and contrast the consequences of the trip both good and bad.

•  The students will be able to identify the key people involved in the expedition and the role each one played by preparing brief biographical statements.

•    The students will be able to trace the journey of Lewis and Clark on a U.S. map.

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Procedures:

This unit is an integrated plan that follows the expedition of Lewis and Clark through the book In Their Own Words: Lewis and Clark by George Sullivan.  (see complete bibliographical information in the materials needed section).  Throughout the reading of the book you will be linked to primary sources from the Library of Congress that will bring the book to life and enhance student learning.  Click on the map below to connect to the full lesson plan.

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Assessment:

• Students will keep a daily "log" including responses to text (both the book and primary sources), journal entries, and sketches.  This will be assessed regularly during the unit. At the end of the unit, the students will include a biographical sketch of one member of the expedition party.
• Students will write a letter "back home" describing the expedition and particularly the hazards the faced by the party.  A rubric for this writing assignment is here.
• A graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the outcomes and consequences of the trip both positive and negative will be completed at the end of the unit.
• Students will complete a map activity which asks them to trace the route of Lewis and Clark's expedition on a current map and compare that to the route one would now take by car to follow a similar path.

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Materials Needed:

• Access to the web on some sort of projection device.
• The book In Their Own Words: Lewis and Clark by George Sullivan published by Scholastic Inc. Copyright 1999.  A class set of these books would be ideal, though the unit could be completed using this book as a "read-aloud" if necessary.
• Some sort of journal for each student.  These could be made of stapled papers with a cover or could be purchased composition books or spiral notebooks.
• United States road atlases.  At least one per group of four students.

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Reflection:

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