Copyright © 2007 by Oklahoma History Press
Chapter 3
AMERICAN EXPLORERS
Lesson Plans for Oklahoma History Teacher_________________ Date__________________
Common Core
Content Standard 1: The student will describe the state’s geography and the historic foundations laid by Native American, European, and American cultures.
1.1 Integrate visual information to identify and describe the significant physical and human features including major trails, railway lines, waterways, cities, ecological regions, natural resources, highways, and landforms.
1.3 Compare and contrast the goals and significance of early Spanish, French, and American expeditions including the impact of disease, interactions with Native Americans, and the arrival of the horse and new technologies.
1.4 Compare and contrast cultural perspectives of Native Americans and European Americans
regarding land ownership and trading practices.
Content Standard 2: The student will evaluate the major political and economic events that transformed the land and its people prior to statehood.
2.1 Summarize and analyze the role of river transportation to early trade and mercantile settlements including Chouteau’s Trading Post at Three Forks.
ASSIGNMENTS:
Read American Explorers, Chapter 3, pages 26-32.
Be prepared to participate in class discussion using the questions on page 32.
Complete the following in Student Activity Book:
Vocabulary
Identifying dates of events
Map study—trace the route of explorers, note the location of rivers and other natural resources
Identifying and completing facts related to the lesson
Use the information learned to write about an imagined experience
Choose from Activities on next page, Section II. Copy and distribute, or project them for group work.
Read Feature: Blending Cultures, pages 51-53. Complete the worksheets. (If time is short, you may opt to assign this in the next chapter.)
I. Discussion Questions: See Teacher’s Edition of textbook for answers.
1. Explain how the United States came to own the Louisiana Territory.
2. If you were exploring a wilderness 300 years ago, what items would you bring to survive?
To trade?
3. Expeditions consisted of people in various occupations. Name occupations that were important
to the immediate and long-term success of expeditions.
4. What names of traders are still used in Oklahoma as place names? (Chouteau, Pryor, etc.) List
place names of Spanish, French, and Indian origins across the state.
5. Consider place names in your own area. What do they remind you about local history?
6-10. Tell about each expedition below.
6. Zebulon Pike Expedition.
7. James B. Wilkinson Expedition
8. Richard Sparks Expedition
9. Stephen H. Long Expedition
10. Hugh Glenn Expedition
I. Activities
1. Time Line—Include the explorers and expeditions including the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Wilkinson and Pike Expedition, and Sparks Expedition.
2. Science Connection-Plant Identification This is printed on next page.
3. American Explorers Crossword Puzzle This is printed on following pages.
III. Internet Research:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisiana_Purchase
http://members.tripod.com/~jtlawson/index.html (on-line game)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark_Expedition
http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-channel.asp?ChannelID=354
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pike_expedition
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/CC/fcu47_print.html
IV. Suggested Reading:
Howard Frank Mosher, The True Account: Concerning a Vermont Gentleman’s Race to the Pacific Against and Exploration of the Western American Continent Coincident to the Expedition of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003)
Rebecca Stefoff, Westward Expansion (San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2001)
Stephen E Ambrose, Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996)
Science Connection-Identifying Plants Name___________________________
You are traveling with Major Long’s second expedition. You are an assistant to Dr. Edwin James, a botanist. Using reference materials in the library make a list of 25 plants that you and Dr. James saw along the present boundary of western Oklahoma.
1. 9. 17.
2. 10. 18.
3. 11. 19.
4. 12. 20.
5. 13. 21.
6. 14. 22.
7. 15. 23.
8. 16. 24.
25.
CROSSWORD PUZZLE:
American Explorers
CLUES FOR THE “AMERICAN EXPLORERS” CROSSWORD PUZZLE
ACROSS
1. France acquired Louisiana from Spain by the Treaty of San __________ .
4. Western tribes exchanged these with the Explorers for various items of interest.
10. Frontier forts created a __________ of defense.
11. This tangled mass clogged the Red River for miles.
13. The ruler of France who sold Louisiana to the United States.
16. The Pike-Wilkinson Expedition was to follow this river to its source.
17. The French-Indian War lasted _______ years.
18. People believed the tribes who lived here were hostile.
20. He led an expedition to the edge of Oklahoma when he was turned back by Spanish soldiers.
21. Some believed this to be an accurate description of the Indian tribes in the North.
22. To give up something, as the Indians did with their land.
23. Outer coverings of corn used for many things by Indian tribes.
26. Long’s second expedition arrived back at the fort (before, after) Bell’s party.
27. They began to move west as soon as Lewis and Clark returned.
30. The place where a river begins.
31. On his second expedition, Major Long sent this man to explore the Arkansas River.
33. Another word for purpose. Major Long’s was to complete Captain Sparks’ mission.
35. Land which is owned by the government but is not yet a state.
36. Meriweather was William’s partner.
38. Major Long missed it and explored the Canadian instead.
39. The Chief Minister of France under Napoleon Bonaparte.
41. Sparks and his men returned here without completing their mission.
42. A poor speller who owned a slave.
DOWN
1. People who live in a region are its ______ .
2. Americans worried that the French might close this port.
3. The Wilkinson party spent Christmas with these people.
5. This was a valued item on the prairie.
6. An unusual, observable fact, such as the Great Raft.
7. Fort Smith was located near the mouth of this river.
8. This major selected the site for Fort Smith. (continued)
DOWN clues, continued
9. These were kept by the Spaniards when they released Pike and his men.
12. This was the first fort in the West.
14. The site selected for the first fort was Belle __________ .
15. American minister to France in 1801.
18. This unit of government handled all transactions with the Indians, at first.
19. Wilkinson and Pike escorted them home from Washington.
21. His expedition was instrumental in opening trade with Western tribes.
22. Moveable property: some looked upon Indians as this.
24. Becknell’s expedition crossed Oklahoma in this part of the state.
25. Colonel Glenn’s trading post was here.
28. He discovered the Great Salt Plains.
29. This was lost to England by Spain.
32. George Sibley’s was the __________ expedition sent into the Far West.
34. The men who first occupied Fort Smith carried these.
37. On the frontier, people traded here.
40. Spanish word for “river,” as in the “Big River” that separates Mexico from Texas.
Student Activity Book Chapter 3 ‑ AMERICAN EXPLORERS
I. VOCABULARY. Give a short definition of each word below as it is used in the textbook.
1. chattel ________________________ 6. geologist ________________________
2. remuneration _____________________ 7. stockade ________________________
3. compensation _____________________ 8. tributary ________________________
4. imperialism ________________________ 9. pelt ________________________
5. expedition ________________________ 10. thwart ________________________
II. MATCHING. Match the correct date for each event described below.
______1. The Glenn‑Fowler Expedition opened trade with the Western Tribes. A. 1682 ________
______2. Louisiana came under Spanish rule. B. 1763 ________
______3. George Sibley discovered the Great Salt Plains. C. 1800 ________
______4. Louisiana was purchased by the United States. D. 1803 ________
_____ 5. The Treaty of San Ildefonso gave Louisiana to France. E. 1806 ________
______6. LaSalle claimed Oklahoma for France. F. 1811________
______7. Wilkinson and Pike Expedition set out to explore Louisiana, G. 1817________
including Oklahoma.
______8. Major Stephen H. Long established Fort Smith. H. 1821________
III. MAP ACTIVITY. On the blank map of Oklahoma below, use colored pencils to color‑code your map work. Trace the expeditions of the American explorers in the state.
IV. COMPLETION. Write the word or words in the blanks that would best complete each statement.
1. France acquired Louisiana from Spain by the Treaty of _______________________.
2. Western tribes exchanged _____________________ with explorers for various other items.
3. Frontier forts created a ________________________of defense.
4. The ruler of France who sold Louisiana to the United States was ______________________.
5. The Pike‑Wilkinson Expedition was to follow the ______________________River to its source.
6. The French and Indian Wars lasted for ___________ years.
7. ___________________led an expedition to the edge of Oklahoma where he was
turned back by Spanish soldiers.
8. On his second expedition, Major Long sent ________________________to explore the
Arkansas River.
9. A ________________________ is land owned by the government that is not yet a state.
10. Americans worried that the French would close the port of ________________________.
11. Ft. Smith was located near the mouth of the _______________________ River.
12. The first fort in the West was Fort _______________.
13. _______________________ was the American Minister to France in 1801.
14. ____________________was the Chief Minister of France under Napoleon.
15. _______________________’s expedition was instrumental in opening trade with Western tribes.
16. Colonel Glenn’s trading post was located at __________________________.
17. ______________________discovered the Great Salt Plains.
18. __________________________is the Spanish word for “river.”
19. __________________Lewis and ___________________Clark explored the Louisiana Territory.
20. _______________were kept by the Spaniards when Pike and his men were released from captivity.
V. THINKING ACTIVITY. Imagine that you are the first Spanish explorer to see one of the early inhabitants of the Oklahoma Plains. Describe the person.
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