Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery

	WebQuest

Introduction

Jefferson had a dream about expanding American territory long before the Louisiana Purchase was completed.  After paying $15,000,000 for the land, he was finally able to put together his Corps of Discovery.  He wanted this group of men to find a direct route to the Pacific Ocean.  However, he also wanted information on the Native Peoples, plants, animals and geography of the territory.  To lead his Corps of Discovery, he chose his former secretary, Merriwether Lewis.  Captain Lewis chose William Clark to be his partner for this journey. Together they organized a group of stalwart adventurers to accompany them on their quest.  Now you will go on a quest to find out more about this hearty group and some of their fascinating discoveries.

 

Task

Your assignment is to work in cooperative groups to learn about the important contributions of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery.  After completing all of the tasks, each group will share what they have learned.  Then each group will create prioritized lists of what they believe were the major contributions and negative impacts the Corps of Discovery had in the development of our country.  As a culminating activity the class will debate each of the contributions and negative impacts, then come to consensus on which they believe had the most impact, either positive or negative.  A good background article to read for the debate is "Filling the Empty Space" at http://www.edgate.com/lewisandclark/.

 

Process

The class will be divided into cooperative groups of four or five students.  Each group will be responsible for researching and completing activities on one of six topics.  The group assignments are Biographers, Outfitters, Cartographers, Anthropologists, Zoologists and Botanists.  Click on the links to learn more about the assignments.

 

Evaluation

Students will be evaluated based on their cooperative group project and participation in the whole-class debate.

 

Conclusion

By completing this webquest, students will develop an opinion about whether the Corps of Discovery had an impact on the development of our country.

After all of this hard work, here are some fun links to sites with interactive enrichment activities about the Corps of Discovery:

http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/into/index.html

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/features/97/west/

 

Graphic Resources:

http://rediscovery.ed.uidaho.edu/Resources/Imagery.asp

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/9477/clipart

http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/4743/cwboy2.html

http://www.thegreasygrass.com/ggset3.html

Last updated:  February 23, 2007

This WebQuest was Created By

Ms. Coates and Mrs. Mostacciuolo