Lewis and Clark: Their Journals, Their Maps, and Their Dog
By Kelli Mills and Paige Waggoner
Summer Fellowship 2010
Abstract:
This unit, differentiated
for primary and intermediate elementary students, will use primary sources to
teach an understanding of the present day by using timelines, maps, journal
entries and photographs of significant events in United States history.
Specifically, students will examine the records of Meriwether Lewis and William
ClarkÕs 1803-1806 exploration of the Louisiana Purchase.
Essential Questions:
What is a primary resource?
What is a time line?
How does a time line help
you understand the present?
How do events that happened
in the past impact me today?
Why are maps important?
How did Lewis and Clark
prepare for their expedition?
What were the purposes of
the Lewis and Clark expedition as outlined by President Jefferson?
á
Be able to
describe interactions with Native Americans.
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Why was it
important to map the new territory?
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Discovery of
plants and animals
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How did trade
ensure the success of the Lewis and Clark expedition?
How and why were the
journals a vital part of the Lewis and Clark expedition?
How were animals essential
to the expedition?
Assessment:
A variety of assessments
will be incorporated into the lesson plan, including journals, graphic
organizers, teacher observation, small and large group discussions, and a final
project of a PowerPoint presentation or a class-generated newsletter.
For this unit, Native Americans will often be referred to as Indians, as they are called in many of the primary source documents. Teachers should decide on their own whether they will continue that practice or make changes as needed.
Lesson 1:
Lesson 2:
Maps - Before the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Lesson 3: Set
Purpose of Trip: mapping, commerce, trade, favorable interactions with Indian
tribes, a catalog of plants and animals.
Lesson 4:
Prep for Trip
Lesson 5:
Using Journals to Share Information:
Meeting Seaman - his purpose for trip.
Lesson 6:
Trading
Lesson 7:
Plants and animals discovered.
Lesson 8:
Interaction with Indians (Native Americans)
Lesson 9:
Maps
Lesson 10:
April 7, 1805
Lesson 11:
Lewis and Clark Timeline