A Wilderness Journey: Did Lewis and Clark Meet Jefferson's Expectations for the Corps of Discovery?
Grade Level:
8th Grade American History Students
Focus of Lesson:
The purpose of this lesson is to allow students to analyze the expectations (instructions) of Thomas Jefferson of the Lewis and Clark Expedition and if Lewis and Clark met those expectations.
Standard(s) Assessed:
Colorado History Standard 2.
Students know how to use the processes and resources of historical inquiry.
Standard(s) Addressed:
Colorado History Standard 2.2.
Students know how to interpret and evaluate primary and secondary sources of historical information.
Colorado Information Literacy Standard 1
The information literate student accesses information efficiently and effectively.
Colorado Information Literacy Standard 3
The information literate student uses information accurately and creatively.
Assessment:
For Assignment 1: Two-column note
PROFICIENT
-The student lists six of seven Jefferson's expectations (his instructions).
-The student will list three details for each expectation
For Assignment 2: Journaling the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Each student will research, record and draw Lewis and Clark's discoveries in a journal.
PROFICIENT
- They should discover : Tribes, Animals, Plants, Landforms, Climate, Longitude & Latitude, & Maps.
For Assignment 3: Compare Jefferson's expectations with Lewis and Clark's discoveries.
PROFICIENT
-Each student will write a letter to Jefferson summarizing if the instructions were met. This letter will become the introduction to the journal each student will construct.
Time:
Five 45-minute class periods.
Assignment 1.) One Period: Students will spend one class period viewing a primary source document concerning Thomas Jefferson's instructions to Meriwether Lewis.
Assignment 2.) Four Periods: Students will study the expedition. This can be through history textbook description, library researching (including primary documents), watching a video, or following the Lewis and Clark trail online. The students will recreate a journal as if they are Lewis and Clark.
Assignment 3.) Two Periods: The students will compare Thomas Jefferson's expectations of the expedition to Lewis and Clark's discoveries.
Materials:
Teacher materials
Electronic Display system such as a video projector or television monitor. (If neither is available, overhead transparencies from Internet sites displayed on Overhead Projector.
DVD/Video Recorder/Playback Machine
Student materials
Computer station for each student
Adopted American History text (optional)
Notebooks, pen/pencils, colored pencils, markers,
Possible Procedures:
Assignment 1.) Students will read Jefferson's letter to Lewis on the Library of Congress America Memory Web site in order to investigate Thomas Jefferson instructions to Lewis and Clark:
http://memory.loc.gov
Click on "Collection Finder" and under "Original Format," select "manuscripts."
Search Terms: "Jefferson's Instructions for Meriwether Lewis, June 20, 1803". A transcription is available at http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/168.html to assist with reading.
The students will locate the document, read, and record expectations in a two column format what specifics Jefferson wanted Lewis & Clark to accomplish on the expedition.
Assignment 2.) At the option of the teacher, students will study the exploration. This can be watching a video with a study guide, reading accounts in an American History text, or working through the PBS online Interactive Guide.
As students study the exploration, they will refer to their two column notes of Jefferson's instructions and journal the discoveries that met his requirements.
A.) Example of videos to use:
Lewis and Clark. Educational Videos. Orangeville, CA. 1997. 50 minutes.
Lewis and Clark. Schlessinger Media. Wynnewood, PA, 2000. 27 minutes.
Lewis & Clark-The Journey of Corps of Discovery. PBS. Two tapes 180 minutes.
The interactive web site for students to learn about the expedition: http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/
Within this site, Students will click on the activity: "Into the Unknown." This is an interactive program for students to work through the expedition.
Assignment 3.) The students will meet in four groups; review their journals, and compare Jefferson's instructions to Lewis and Clark accomplishments. Each student (as Meriwether Lewis) will write a letter to Jefferson stating if Jefferson's goals were met. This letter will be included in the journal.
Evaluations: Grade Requirements
Optional rubric for Information Literacy
Support Materials:
Example of two columns notes.
Directions for student made journal.
Grade Requirement and Timeline
Rubric for Information Literacy
Library Reference Materials: Books on the Corps of Discovery Expedition, Lewis and Clark, Explorers, and the American West; Animal Encyclopedias; Plant Encyclopedias; Historical Atlases that can be found in the school library.
