Leson Plan #: CC-0060
Lesson 1: The Lewis and Clark Expedition



Objectives: The student will be able to:

1. recognize that, beginning with the Louisiana Purchase, the new United States expanded westward.

2. describe the adventures and hardships faced by explorers such as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

Description of lesson/activities:

1. The teacher should demonstrate on a map the size of the United States at the end of the American Revolution, extending from the Atlantic Coast to the Mississippi River. Comparing this to the current continental U.S., students can infer the westward g rowth of the nation. While this lesson focuses on the Louisiana Purchase, the teacher may wish to follow it with additional information about the additions of the Oregon Territory, Texas, the Mexican Cession, and the Gadsden Purchase.

2. In describing the purchase of Louisiana by President Jefferson, the teacher should emphasize the extent of the territory and its largely unknown qualities. The subsequent Lewis and Clark Expedition should be treated as an exciting adventure of explora tion. Many appropriate resources are available for this lesson. Off the Map: The Journals of Lewis and Clark , by Delia Ray, reviews these important primary resources, edited for young readers. Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the American West< /i> , by Steven Kroll, shows the route that was followed by the expedition through excellent pictures. Videos such as The Lewis and Clark Expedition (United Learning, 20 minutes) combines re-creations and illustrations for the same purpose.

3. Students should learn about the purposes of the expedition, the naturalobstacles faced along the route, and the encounters with Indians, including Sacajawea. Culminating activities might include the following:

  • writing a final report to President Jefferson about the journey from Lewis and Clark's point of view.
  • describing an encounter with Lewis and Clark from an Indian's point of view.
  • Drawing pictures or maps of the important natural obstacles encountered by the expedition.




    Resources:

    Kroll, Steven. Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the American West. (Holiday House, 1994)

    (ISBN 0-8234-1034-X).

    Roop, Peter. Off the Map: The Journals of Lewis and Clark. (Walker, 1993)

    (ISBN 0-8027-8207-8).