Lewis and Clark

Lewis and Clark's voyage to america is very historic. It was the first American overland expedition to the pacific coast and back. With a journal entry being recorded on August 31, 1803, Meriwether Lewis began his epic journey to america with William Clark. This a very important and historic part of American history. Both of these men and quite a few others, risked their lives to see what was on this side of the world. For this project we will put our minds in the time of Lewis and Clark. We will travel the United State of America and play the roles of these brave people. During this time we will see things we wouldn't imagine being around and risk our lives for President Thomas Jefferson.

Web site # 1

The website that I have hyperlinked, allows you to understand the journey Meriwether Lewis and William Clark took with a couple other men to explore the United States of America. The group that you are in and yourself, need to read the entire article and understand what the roles are of many of the men who took this trip especially Lewis and Clark. It would be very useful if you took notes and wrote down specific elements of the voyage and a good understanding of what they did wouldn't hurt. You should go through all of the slides writing down animals they saw, men that went on the trip and specific locations. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/journey_leg_1.html

Web site # 2

This website has to deal with a young Native American shoshone Indian guide and interpreter Sacajawea. Joining Lewis and Clark's journey in North Dakota, she was a very useful young lady who helped guide this men with her newborn child. This website helps you learn about Sacajawea's background and her well beings. http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/sacajawea.html

What to do?

Lets go back over 200 years and put ourselves in the minds of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Thomas Jefferson dispatched these two ment to find a water route across North America. "The Corps of discovery," as they were so called were thought to run in to woolly mammoths, erupting valcanoes and a mountain of pure salt. The journey you will be taking is very mind-boggoling and different. You don't know what you will see on this journey or know what will happen.

There will be three roles you will be playing during this project. The three characters will be: Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and Sacajewea. Based on your readings, you will understand the character you will be playing and must pick one of the three. The characters will be under roles 1,2, and 3. You will begin your journey from the Missouri river and explore the pacific. On this epic voyage, you will write down a journal containing as much information as possible. Your journey will last two years from 1804 to 1806 and consist of many things you have not seen before. (Animals Found by the men)

In addition to what you already need to do, you and your group will either make a video at home or present in front of the class. This role playing will last a minimum of ten minutes and you will be playing a role of the character you had to get information about. This assignment is a little bit more difficult but it is expected of you to try your best and make a good impression.

First role: Lewis

The first role someone will be playing is Meriwether Lewis. Make sure you write down from the websites many notes to understand what this man went through. This is key because it will not only help you with the paper, but the role of Lewis. Your second part of the project will be much easier with notes. You will also write a five page paper on what Meriwether Lewis did to become a great explorer. Tough times were overcame and you should specifically write about how he observed many different animals and what devices they traveled in to finish the journey in Oregon.

Role 2- William Clark

Meriwether Lewis' right hand man. William Clark was just as brave and daring. You will be writing a five page paper on William Clark and his best characteristics on this journey. Through your readings you will find many different facts that will allow you to see what he accomplished during this very unknown time. Finding critical information will help you play his character better in front of the class or in a movie at home. For this paper you will be writing, specific notes should be written down with Clark's observations and life changing experiences.

Role # 3-Sacajawea

One will play the role of translater and Indian woman, Sacajawea. Along with new born son, met with Lewis and Clark in North Dakota to begin the journey with them. Your task will be to write a 5 page paper on what she did for these two men. Arguably the smartest og=f the three, Sacajawea has many facts about her that really helped these men through these wild times. All of this information will help with the second part of the project, which is to present either at home or in front of the class. The more information you have with your team, the better the project and most likely the grade.

Teacher help

1) The intended audience would be middle schoolers. I feel like 6th or 7th graders would enjoy this assignment and get plenty out of it.
2) Students will learn about Anmerica. They will find out about the journey these people went on and what they found. There's plenty on this topic that will make you learn loads of information.
3) Skills students need before entering my webquest are knowing how to use a computer. If you're good at that, you will have no problem doing this assignment. Computer skills would be useful as well. In addition, students will also need to prepare for group work as well. Presenting in front of a class can be nerv racking but it is a component you will need.
4) You will need a fair amount of time on the computer. Most of the assignment will be done on a computer so about a good week and a half. Another week will be needed to spend with your group working on the presentation as well.
5) Grading work should be very easy. Since this is so historic, you will know if the student read the information or not. The reason I made it 5 pages is because I feel there's too much information on this topic not to have 5 pages. With that not being too difficult, the students will also need to perform infront of the class and it should be a different way to grade! good luck!