The Courageous Corp of Discovery

The Courageous Corp of Discovery

Developed by

(Brenda Johnson, Olympia Middle School, )

cruises_tours/i...

Introduction

The purpose of this WebQuest is to learn more about the people who faced the unknown in order to help make the United States what it is today by exploring the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase from 1804-1806. Anyone interested (mainly OMS 7th grade students) in the Lewis and Clark Expedition will enjoy this WebQuest. Students will be involved in activities in Language Arts and Reading class as well as Social Studies. Students will learn why this very important journey was made, who was involved in the expedition and a lot of interesting information learned by the crew of the expedition. Find the answers to the following questions as you investigate this great historical exploration:

How did Sacajawea’s involvement in the Lewis and Clark Expedition help shape the history of the U.S.?

How did the Lewis and Clark Expedition impact the opening of the American West?

How did the interaction of everyone involved in the expedition and those met along the way affect the success of this expedition?

Get your journal, pen and compass ready as you travel the West with Lewis and Clark!

The Task

Students will be joining Lewis and Clark as a member of the Corp of Discovery. They will work alone for most tasks. As students travel through this WebQuest, information will be gathered to help answer the essential questions stated in the Introduction. Students will see that being a person of courage was a requirement to be a member of the Corp of Discovery. They will also see that different people, from various walks of life can all work together to accomplish a goal.

Process

Decide what role you would like to take in the Corp of Discovery. Look at the list of members at:

You will be keeping a journal. This journal will also be used in Language Arts, so be sure to take it with you to both classes.

Write a description of your role on the 1st page of your journal.

2. Find out who is sending you on this expedition and why. Read the following letter:

Answer the following questions after reading the letter President Jefferson wrote to Casper Wistar on February 28, 1803:

How many men does Jefferson plan to involve in this expedition?
Name 3 qualities President Jefferson thinks the person heading the expedition should have.
President Jefferson believes the expedition will take Lewis _____ seasons.

Read the story at:

Complete the following in your journal:

Draw a picture entry of your visit at the Great Falls Portage. Illustrate 3 things you saw at this site and 3 hardships you had to endure while there.

Here’s another interesting story!

Now that you’ve read a lot of information about this topic, create a RAFT about your journey. Remember the points to making a RAFT are:

R-Role (Who or what are you?)

A-Audience (To whom is your info directed?)

F-Format (What form will it take? Letter, speech, obituary. . .?)

T-Topic (+ a strong verb: Are you going to persuade, demand, or plead? )

Use the Role Definition Matrix to help you plan before you write yourRAFT. Be prepared to share your RAFT in class.

5. Read the information about Sacajawea at this site and answer the questions on the handout.

6. Look at the map at this sight, and then answer the following questions

Name 3 rivers mapped by Lewis and Clark.

Name 3 other explorations that took place following the Lewis and Clark expedition. Be sure to give the date of the exploration.

How might events in our country’s history differed if Lewis and Clark had not taken the challenge presented by President Jefferson?

Evaluation

Lewis and Clark RAFT Rubric
Teacher Name: Mrs. Johnson
Student Name: ______
CATEGORY / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1
Role / Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were consistently in character. / Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were often in character. / Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were sometimes in character. / Point-of-view, arguments, and solutions proposed were rarely in character.
Historical Accuracy / All historical information appeared to be accurate and in chronological order. / Almost all historical information appeared to be accurate and in chronological order. / Most of the historical information was accurate and in chronological order. / Very little of the historical information was accurate and/or in chronological order.
Knowledge Gained / Can clearly explain several ways in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters and can clearly explain why. / Can clearly explain several ways in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters. / Can clearly explain one way in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters. / Cannot explain one way in which his character "saw" things differently than other characters.
Required Elements / Student included more information than was required. / Student included all information that was required. / Student included most information that was required. / Student included less information than was required.

Lesson Plans

Before students can be successful, a basic understanding of using the computer will be necessary. They need to have knowledge of the keyboard and using the internet. Prior practice in writing RAFTs will be helpful.

Lesson 1

Students will complete steps 1 & 2 of the WebQuest. They will be choosing the role they will assume for the WebQuest activity from a site which gives biographical information about the members of the Corp of Discovery. After this, students will write a description of their role on the 1st page of the journal.
Students will go to the second step of the WebQuest and complete the instructed activity. Answers to the questions will be written on paper and handed in as a ticket out of class.

MATERIALS NEEDED

-journals

-paper/pen or pencil

Lesson 2

Students will complete Step 3 of the WebQuest. A journal entry is assigned for this lesson.

MATERIALS NEEDED

-journals

-colored pencils

Lesson 3

Students will complete Step 4 of the WebQuest. This lesson will take 3 class periods. After reading the story in today’s lesson, students will use the Role Definition Matrix (CRISS resource) to plan a RAFT. They may also use the list of suggested RAFT components if they need help choosing the 4 parts of the RAFT. Writing may begin after the planning is completed. Writing and sharing will take place over the next 2 days.

MATERIALS NEEDED

-Copies of CRISS Role Definition Matrix

-Copies of RAFT list

-paper/pen or pencil

-art materials if needed for Format

Lesson 4

Students will view United Streaming Video/Sacajawea

(You can sign up for a 30 trial with United Streaming. See if your school district is willing to subscribe to this site. It is a great resource!)

Lesson 5

a. Students will complete Step 5 of the WebQuest today. After reading the story about Sacajawea, students will complete the activity page. This assignment will be collected at the end of class.

MATERIALS NEEDED

-Copies of PBS online Lesson 7 Student Activity Page: Sacajawea

-pen or pencil

Lesson 6

Students will complete Step 6 of the WebQuest today.

MATERIALS NEEDED

-paper/pen or pencil

State Standards

16. A I can use an historical source to describe past events and people and why they are important.

17. D I can tell why people moved to different places and regions.

18. C I can tell how people made choices to change society.

Teacher Resources & Credits

PBS Online/ Student Activity Page: Sacajawea/Lesson 5 (Go to this site, scroll down and click on Sacajawea)
CRISS Role Definition Matrix and RAFT list can be obtained from a Project CRISS training book.

Go to to inquire about workshops.