I.

Undiscovered Land: Lewis and Clark Kimberly Ismaili

A. Lesson plan overview and description
1. Expected duration 2 hours or 2 days broken up
2. Social Sciences: history, geography, culture
3. Concepts:
a. Lewis and Clarks exploration of the West and the Corps of Discovery
Route
b. The lifestyle and conditions of the explorers journey
4. Vocabulary
a. Meriwether Lewis
b. William Clark
c. Sacagawea
5. Skills:
a. Map reading skills
b. Writing skills
c. Reading skills
d. Compare and contrast
6. Broad Goals of Lesson
a. In this lesson, students will explore the path and adventures Lewis and
Clark took to venture the unexplored West. They will also learn about
the lifestyle and conditions of explorers journey experience.
B. Content Outline
1. Lewis and Clark
1. In 1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led a journey to explore
the West.
2. They had help from a Shoshone woman name Sacagawea.
3. They reached the Pacific in 1805.
C. Standards
1. PDE SAS Standards
1. 7.1.4.B = 7. Geography. 1. Basic Geographic Literacy. 4. Grade
4. B. Describe and locate places and regions as defined by physical
and human features.
2. 7.4.4.A = 7. Geography. 4. Interactions Between People and
the Environment. 4. Grade 4. A. Identify the effect of the physical
systems on people within a community.
3. 8.1.4.A = 8. History. 1. Historical Analysis and Skills
Development. 4. Grade 4. A. Identify and describe how geography
and climate have influenced continuity and change over time.
4. 8.3.4.B = 8. History. 3. United States History. 4. Grade 4. B.
Locate historical documents, artifacts, and places critical to United
States history.
2. PDE Common Core
a. English Language Arts: CC 1.1.4.F: Determine the meaning of
words and phrases as they are used in grade level text.

b. English Language Arts: CC.1.3.4.J Acquire and use accurately

grade appropriate conversational, general academic, and domainspecific words and phrases, including those that signal precise actions,
emotions, or states of being that are basic to a particular content.
c. English Language Arts: CC.8.5.6-8.G. Integrate visual information
(e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other
information in print and digital texts.
3. NCSS Themes and Subthemes
a. II.D = II. Time, Continuity, and Change. D. Identify and use various
sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters,
diaries, maps, textbooks, photos, and others.
b. III.A. = III. People, Places, and Environments. A. construct and
use mental maps of locales, regions, and the world that demonstrate
understanding of relative location, direction, size, and shape.
D. Lesson Objectives
1. Students will:
Identify and discuss information about places that were yet
unexplored.
Write a journal entry about what may be expected on the new lands.
Chart what was known about and/or preconceived perceptions about
the areas Lewis and Clark explored.
Compare and contrast past and modern maps of North America
(pre/post Lewis and Clark).
Study the expedition routes, identifying places they visited and named,
noting changes and similarities on modern day maps.
E. Teaching Procedures
1. Anticipatory Set/Introduction (Day 1)
Have students answer questions on the Lewis and Clark Questions
Worksheet (Section 1):
o Think of a place where youd like to explore
o What do you know about this place?
o Where is a place no one has visited?
o Are we able to find information about this place? Where would you
find it?
o Imagine you are getting ready to explore this place.
What would you do to get ready for this journey?
What would you do if you heard rumors of dangerous animals,
people, or terrain? Would you be afraid or would you become
more curious? Why?
Have students discuss how they would prepare for a journey to a
location no one has ever been and/or for where there is little
information about. Ask whether myths about the place may make them
less interested in going.
Even though people lived where Lewis and Clark explored, to the
Europeans who settled in eastern U.S., the West was a mysterious
place. Students should discuss what Lewis and Clark must have
thought about their journey before they started it.

Have students write a journal entry like a prologue to a fake Journey

Diary in the voice of the expedition members before they start their
journey. They should write about what they expect to find, what they
fear, what they will miss, and where they plan to go. Entries can also
include images such as sketches of animals they may see or terrain
they may cross.
2. Lesson Input/ Guided Practice
Students will break into groups and read the Circa 1803 section of the
Lewis and Clark Web site to see what information was available to Lewis
and Clark at the time before they left on their journey.
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/ While reading, students should fill in
handout with chart to describe the lifestyle, geographical knowledge, and
rumors about the West at the time of Lewis and Clarks journey.
Lifestyle in 1803
(especially for Lewis
and Clark)

Geographical Knowledge of
the continent

Rumors about the West at

this time

3. Closure
Collect journal entry students wrote at the beginning of class.
Have students finish chart in section 2 for homework that night. If they
already finished the chart, those students should look up an answer for
the following question: What are the origins of maps before Lewis and
Clarks expedition? Who made them? How did they get the information
about the area?
4. Anticipatory Set/ Introduction (Day 2)
Ask students what the origins of maps before Lewis and Clarks expedition
could have been from? Who made them? How did they get the
information about the areas?
Talk about the answer as a class. See if students found different answers
than one another.
5. Lesson Input/ Guided Practice
Have students look at the pre-journey map of the West in the Map Section
of the website (Soulard Map of the Missouri and Upper Mississippi, 1802
by William Clark). Have students also look at the Map of Lewis and Clark
Track for what they discovered.
Have students answer questions about maps (Section 3):
o What are the main differences between the old maps and a current
map of the United States?
o What parts of todays United States were the least known in the
beginning of the 19th century?
o How do you think the Americans in the eastern U.S. got their
information about the West before Lewis and Clarks journey?
Have students look at The Route of the Corps of Discovery to find out
where the journey actually went. With a printout of a U.S. map, have
students trace Lewis and Clarks journey on to the map.
Have students answer questions comparing maps (Section 4):
o What rivers did the party go down?

o What mountain ranges did they cross?

o What modern-day states did they go through?
o What modern-day towns did they go through? (name 5 towns)
Have students look at a modern U.S. map and locate areas Lewis and
Clark passed through, noting how the explorers named each of these
locations. Students can refer to the journal entries found at the Web sites
Archives to gain information. Students should label features on their maps
and trace them with a red pencil to indicate that the Corps of Discovery
named them.
6. Independent Practice
Students will write a journal entry. They will write an epilogue piece to
their fake Journey Diary explaining how they feel at the end of their
journey exploring their way to the West. Students should describe the
landscapes they saw and liked best, some people they met, and new
animals and plants they discovered.
7. Differentiation
How will the individual needs of the student be met?
o Need to get to know the students before you can really differentiate.
8. Closure
Collect Questions Worksheet
Collect Maps
Introduce lesson for the next day:
o (Teacher Talk) Lewis and Clark were not the only ones who made
the journey west, and they were certainly not the least. Once a few
people started settling out is the West, others started to travel west
as well. The path that most people took to get out west was known
by a specific name. Does anyone know what that name is? The
Oregon Trail. Tomorrow, we will take a closer look at what people
went through on their journey to the West.
Exit Card: What do you think is the most important thing to have on an
explanation? Why is it so important?
F. Teacher and Student Resources and Evaluation of Resources
1. Student Reading Resources:
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/idx_cir.html
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/archive/idx_map.html
2. Teacher Resources for Lesson Design:
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/class/l01.html
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/archive/idx_map.html
http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/idx_cir.html
Textbook: Harcourt Social Studies States and Regions (Chapter 12
Exploring the West)
3. Evaluation of Teacher Resources Used for Lesson Planning Design.
Resource Title or
Website Address

Influen
ce:
SI or
MI

3+ Characteristics
suggesting that the
source is a quality
resource, reliable

Accessibili
ty
Access for
teachers

Overall Rating
and
Suggestions
for current,

material
Video link
Activity sheets
Online resources

or others
Easily
Accessible

future use of
resource
Would use this
again

http://www.pbs.o
rg/lewisandclark/
class/l01.html

(SI)

http://www.pbs.org/
lewisandclark/

(SI)

Archives with journals Easily

External web sources Accessible
Extra online
resources
Interactive Trail Map
Interviews
Lessons for topic of
Lewis and Clark
Books and videos

http://www.pbs.org/
lewisandclark/archi
ve/idx_map.html

(MI)

Easily
Accessible

http://www.pbs.org/
lewisandclark/insid
e/idx_cir.html

(MI)

Route Lewis and Clark

took
Maps drawn by both
Lewis and Clark
Article about
expedition

Easily
Accessible

A tad length.
May use again
B

Harcourt Social
Studies States and
Regions (Chapter
12 Exploring the
West)

(MI)

Basic definitions
Very short passages
that are vague
about information it
contains

Easily
Accessible
textbook
for the
class

Not too much

information.
Very vague and
non-specific.
Would
probably not
use.
D

A
So many
different
characteristics
to this website.
Would use this
again to teach
anything
related to
Lewis and
Clark
A+
Good resource.
May use again
B

G. Formative and Summative Assessment of Students

1. Formative: Collection of journal entry, and an exit card question will be
asked at the end of the lesson.
2. Summative: Collection of Lewis and Clark Questions Worksheet (graded on
completion and correctness) and Maps (graded on completion and relative
closeness of drawn lines) at the end of the lesson
H. Technology/Materials/Equipment
1. Technology:
Computer with internet access
Smart board
2. Materials:
Lewis and Clark Questions worksheet
Current map of the United States
Pencil

Paper
Colored Pencils

I. Reflection on Planning
I thought planning this lesson was a little stressful. I was not used to this
format; it was a lot more in depth than I have been used to, but I liked it in a
way. It made me think about all the aspects of the lesson more thoroughly
and make sure that everything was in order with the lesson. Ive never really
planned multi-day lessons before, so it was interesting to be able to do one. I
had difficulty coming up with the independent practices for some reason. I
pushed through and came up with an activity I thought would work well with
the rest of the lesson. It is mainly based on the ability to access the internet,
so if there were by chance no internet access, I would have to make a huge
change to the plans of this lesson. With all things hopeful, the internet will
work and the students will be able to access and use the websites to learn
more about Lewis and Clarks journey. I am sure that there are some
revisions I could make to the lesson if I ever come back and use it in the
future, but for now, I am very happy with how it turned out.