Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery

Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery The Route of the Corps of Discovery to the Pacific

Mrs. Ballard

Imagine you have just received your letter from Thomas Jefferson inviting you to go on “the greatest camping trip” of all time. You have been invited to join the Corps of Discovery. You are going to join Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in traveling from St. Louis, Missouri to the west coast of America. President
Thomas Jefferson has just bought the Louisiana Purchase from France for $15 million and believes there may be a Northwest Passage through the America that would help ships get from the east coast to the west coast in a shorter amount of time.

You are excited to travel all the way from the east of America to the west coast with a group of men called the Corps of Discovery. Your mission is to try to discover more about the land and Native American people you meet. You will be traveling into Native American land so you and your friends don’t know what to expect. You have spent the winter in St. Louis gathering your supplies. Now you are ready to set off on your journey of discovery.

After completing this webquest you will create a 6-8 slide Power Point presentation that answers the following questions.

1. The 1800’s were a time for expansion in the United States. Native Americans believed that land was to be used by all people and that no one owned the land. Why did Thomas Jefferson send the Corps of Discovery into Native American land? Did he have the right to send them into Native American land?

You will follow the AHPPA format to complete your project.

#1 Identify the Problem

The problem was that Lewis and Clark were asked to explore the Louisiana Purchase. This was land that was west of St. Louis, Missouri and it belonged to the Native Americans.

#2 Gather the Evidence

How do you know that Lewis and Clark’s journey was a problem for some of the Native Americans they met? What was written about them in the journals?

#3 Determine the Causes

List and describe the reasons why Thomas Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to explore this territory.

#4 Evaluate the Policy

Describe Lewis and Clark’s trip and what they found. Evaluate whether the policy of exploring the Louisiana Purchase should have been done or not.

Your task will be to create a 6 - 8 slide Power Point presentation that either defends or criques President Jefferson’s decision to buy the Louisiana Purchase and to send Lewis and Clark and their men across the United States into Native American land.

Your slide presentation should be set up like this:

Slide 1 Title of your presentation, your name, grade and class

e.g. Lewis and Clark and the Greatest Camping Trip of all Time by Wendy Ballard, 5B

Slide 2 – Answer the following question:

Why did Thomas Jefferson send the Corps of Discovery into Native American land? Did he have the right to send them into Native American land?

e.g I think Thomas Jefferson did have the right to send the Crops of Discovery into Native American land because…

I think Thomas Jefferson did not have the right to send the Crops of Discovery into Native American land because…

Slide 3- put in information you have found to prove you are right

Slide 4- put in information you have found to prove you are right

Slide 5- put in information you have found to prove you are right

Slide 6- put in information you have found to prove you are right

Slide 7- put in any additional information that also connects to your research (primary or secondary sources)

Slide8- put in any additional information that connects to your research (primary or secondary sources)

Your teacher will divide you into pairs. You will work as a team to gather the information you need from this web quest. You will use the information you find to plan, then create a Power Point and present it to an audience.

Primary Source Documents

http://www.in.gov/history/images/palladium112006.gif

AHPPA

Jefferson’s letter to William Henry Harrison

Your work will be assessed using the following rubric:

Task	4	3	2	1
Power Point presentation	Power Point presentation fully answers the task question	Power Point presentation somewhat answers the task question.	Power Point presentation vaguely answers the task question.	Power Point presentation does not answer the task question.
Primary sources	At lease 2 primary source documents are used and there is an explanation of these documents.	One primary source document is used and there is an explanation about that document.	Either a primary source document is missing or an explanation is missing	No primary source documents are used. There is no explanation.
Grammar/ spelling	Each slide has correct grammar and spelling.	There are a few spelling/ grammatical errors.	There are many spelling or grammatical errors.	There are many spelling and grammatical errors.
Speaking skills	Each member of the team is prepared and presents the Power Point presentation. ( Notes are evident)	Only some members of the team are prepared to present. (Only a few have notes)	No members of the team are prepared. ( There are no notes)	The PowerPoint presentation is not complete./ The team is not prepared to speak.

Congratulations, you have completed your mission. I hope you have learned about the important role the Corps of Discovery played in American History.

N.Y.S. Standards

Social Studies Standards:

Standard 1

History of the United States and New York

Key Idea 2-

Investigate key turning points in New York States history and explain why these events or developments are significant.

Standard 3

Geography

Key Idea 1

Draw maps and diagrams that serve as representations of places, physical features, and objects.

Standard 4

Economics

Key Idea 1

Study about how the availability and distribution of resources is important to a nation’s economic growth.

ELA Standards

Standard 1-

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for information and understanding.

Students will gather and interpret information from children’s reference books, magazines, textbooks, electronic bulletin boards, audio and media presentations, oral interviews, and from such forms as charts, graphs, maps, and diagrams.

Students will present information clearly in a variety of oral and written forms such as summaries, paraphrases, brief reports, stories, posters and charts.

Students will use standard English skillfully, applying established rules and conventions for presenting information and making use of a wide range of grammatical constructions and vocabulary to achieve an individual style that communicates effectively.

Standard 3

Students will read, write, listen, and speak for critical analysis and evaluation.

Students will analyze, interpret, and evaluate information, ideas, organization and language from academic and nonacademic texts, such as textbooks, public documents, book and movie reviews, and editorials.