Return to Meet the Corps of Discovery: The Members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Subjects Arts & Humanities Language Arts Educational Technology Social Studies History U.S. History

Grades 3-5 6-8 9-12

Brief Description Students assume the persona of one of the members of Lewis and Clark’s expedition team. Objectives Students will research a member of Lewis and Clark’s expedition team. write a first-person introduction of that team member. share that introduction in a 2-3 minute presentation to classmates. Keywords Lewis and Clark, expedition, Corps of Discovery, discover, expansion, Jefferson, Missouri, Louisiana Purchase Materials Needed Internet access (or printouts from Web resources listed below) writing materials video camera (optional) Lesson Plan In this activity, students learn about the kinds of people who accompanied Lewis and Clark on their incredible adventure. The 33 people -- a few more explorers would join the expedition as it progressed -- are referred to as the Corps of Discovery. Students use print and online resources (or printouts from some of the Internet Research Resources provided below) to learn more about the explorers they are assigned to research. They then prepare a 2-3 minute presentation in which they introduce themselves as that person. Each student’s first-person presentation should begin "My name is ____, and I…” In the presentations, students briefly describe themselves -- the explorer's age, home state, rank, and other facts; why they were selected to be part of the expedition; and specific information about their role in the expedition. Students’ presentations help them get to know the people who comprised the Corps of Discovery and the kinds of skills each brought to the expedition. The presentations also lead to an assessment activity in which students write a paragraph or brief essay describing in general terms what Lewis and Clark were looking for as they put together the expedition team. Students’ written first-person accounts might be collected and combined into a class book. Their class presentations might be videotaped and used as a teaching resource and/or as a display at your school's open house night. Assigning the Corps Members Some members of the Corps played a larger role in the expedition than did others, so you might want to assign some students more than one person to research and introduce. The list below is a recommendation of possible groupings for student assignments. Those groupings that include more than one person might be assigned to students with more highly honed research skills -- students who are more likely to dig beneath some of the surface sites that are provided to uncover interesting facts about less prominent Corps members. Students who are assigned more than one person will divide their presentation time among them. Meriwether Lewis William Clark John Ordway Nathaniel Pryor Charles Floyd Patrick Gass William Bratton John Collins and John Colter Pierre Cruzatte Joseph Field and Reuben Field Robert Frazer and Silas Goodrich George Gibson, Thomas P. Howard, Hugh Hall, and Francis Labiche Hugh McNeal and John Shields George Shannon and John Potts Jean Baptiste LePage and John B. Thompson William Werner, Richard Windsor, Peter Wiser (aka Weiser), and Alexander Willard Joseph Whitehouse Richard Warfington John Newman Pierre Dorion George Drouillard Toussaint Charbonneau York (Clark's slave) Sacajawea (Charbonneau's Shoshone wife) Jean Baptiste Charbonneau (son of Toussaint and Sacajawea) Seaman (Lewis’s dog) Internet Research Resources Following are a few sites that might serve as initial resources for students. To locate additional information, students can use their favorite search engines [Search term: "Corps member's name" + "Lewis and Clark"]. Corps of Discovery Lewis and Clark: Inside the Corps Corps of Discovery Profiles Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery Military Members of the Expedition's Permanent Party Corps of Discovery: The People Additional Resources The following general resources might be used to gather additional information about some members of the Corps. General Histories A Brief History of the Lewis and Clark Expedition The Lewis and Clark Expedition: A Western Adventure, A National Epic The Journey of the Corps of Discovery: A Timeline of the Trip Lewis and Clark’s Historic Trail: Timeline The Ultimate Adventure: Retrace the Trail Journals The Journey of the Corps of Discovery: The Journals Lewis and Clark’s Historic Trail: Journals The Journals of Lewis and Clark The Ultimate Adventure: The Journals Other Resources Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery Rivers, Edens, Empires: Lewis and Clark and the Revealing of America Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery Re-Live the Adventure of Lewis and Clark with the Corps of Discovery Assessment Write a paragraph (older students might write a brief essay) summarizing the traits and skills that Lewis and Clark looked for in the men they hired to be part of the Corps of Discovery. Lesson Plan Source Education World Submitted By Gary Hopkins National Standards LANGUAGE ARTS: English GRADES K - 12 NL-ENG.K-12.1 Reading for Perspective NL-ENG.K-12.2 Reading for Understanding NL-ENG.K-12.8 Developing Research Skills NL-ENG.K-12.9 Multicultural Understanding NL-ENG.K-12.10 Applying Non-English Perspectives NL-ENG.K-12.12 Applying Language Skills SOCIAL SCIENCES: Geography GRADES K - 12 NSS-G.K-12.1 The World in Spatial Terms SOCIAL SCIENCES: U.S. History GRADES K - 4 NSS-USH.K-4.3 The History of the United States: Democratic Principles and Values and the People from Many Cultures Who Contributed to Its Cultural, Economic, and Political Heritage GRADES 5 - 12 NSS-USH.5-12.4 Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861) TECHNOLOGY GRADES K - 12 NT.K-12.1 Basic Operations and Concepts NT.K-12.5 Technology Research tools Click here to return to the Lewis and Clark lesson plan page. Click here to find lesson plans about other events and eras in history. Originally published 01/24/2003 Links last updated 08/22/2008