Lewis & Clark Lessons

Grade 3 -- Lewis and Clark Curriculum -- Lesson One Standard Two: Students understand and interpret history. Critical Knowledge: Identify major historical US events and individuals. Objectives: 1. The students will be able to name the key player in the Louisiana Purchase. 2. The students will be able to locate the area of the Louisiana Territory on a map. 3. The students will be able to explain the reason for the Louisiana Purchase. 4. The students will be able to understand the reason for the exploration of the Louisiana Territory. 5. The students will be able to identify the main explorers chosen for this journey. 6. The students will be able to state the time frame of these events.   Background Information: Thomas Jefferson, the third President of the United States from 1801-1809, was a remarkable man for his time. He was a man who constantly wanted to learn more, and increase his knowledge about plants, animals, stars, architecture, and music. Jefferson was also a great writer, and is well known for composing the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson had plans for the new nation, and they included expanding the boundaries of the United States westward. At the time the United States was made up of seventeen states. In 1803 Jefferson purchased the 800,000 square mile Louisiana Territory form France for 15 million dollars, or about 3 cents an acre. This increased the size of the United States by 140 percent. Jefferson needed a team to explore the new land. He asked his good friend Meriwether Lewis to be the leader of the expedition. For more detailed information on Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase, go to: Life of Thomas Jefferson: http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/jefferson/biog/lj29.htm   Materials: a copy of the activity booklet for each student which can be found in your school media center   Procedure: Day 1: Play a game of Jeopardy with your students. The following questions are suggestions: -Who was the third President of the United States? Thomas Jefferson -What year did Jefferson ask Lewis to lead an expedition to the unknown lands of the west? 1802 -How did Meriwether Lewis know President Jefferson? Lewis was the President's secretary. -What did the Louisiana Purchase cost? 15 million dollars -Was North Dakota a part of the Louisiana Purchase? Yes -How big was the Louisiana Territory? About 800,000 square miles -Why did Jefferson want to explore the west? He wanted to look for a trade route to the Pacific Ocean. He also wanted details about the people, plants, and animals in the area. -How much money did Jefferson give to the expedition? $2500 -Why did the expedition bring Peace medals with them? The medals were used to show the Indians that the expedition came in peace, good will, and friendship. -Who did Lewis ask to co-captain the expedition? William Clark Day 2: Read in the Lewis and Clark activity booklet about Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Purchase. Work independently or with a partner to complete the "Missing Word Puzzle" Day 3: Together with your class, explore the United States map. Locate the Louisiana Purchase. On the back of the map, list the present-day states that were part of this Territory. Day 4: Read in the Lewis and Clark activity booklet about Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Getting Ready. Work independently or with a partner to complete the "Missing Word Puzzle" Day 5: Create and design your own Peace Medal. The pattern is provided in the Lewis and Clark activity booklet. This packet can be checked out from your school media center. Have the students think of qualities they would want to display to a group of people they had never met before. Examples would be trustworthiness, kindness, fairness, etc. The students should also put a symbol on their medals to represent these qualities. On the other side of the medal, have one quality that represents themselves, and a symbol that shows something important in their lives. Share the medals. As a wrap up activity, play another round of Jeopardy. Wow! Look how much you've learned!