Lewis and Clark Assignment
(STEAM CONCEPTS)
(Mr. Bulebosh and Mr. Armstrong)
You and a fellow explorer have been asked by President Jefferson to accompany Lewis and
Clark on their journey into the Louisiana Territory and beyond. Before you leave, the
President will give you very specific instructions (They appear below) – you and your partner
will work together to create a detailed journal of the new discoveries you have made on the
trip. Make sure you are accurate and use the following web pages to research the topics and
help you create your journal.
Directions: You must complete a task for each of the following subjects in your journal:
A. Journal 1: Preparation for the Journey – write a short journal entry discussing the
following questions. Make sure it is grammatically correct and that you proofread.
 What is the purpose of the journey?
 Why were you chosen? What skills to you have?
 What are you taking with you?
 What are your thoughts and feelings about the journey ahead?
B. Journal 2: Geography of region (landforms & waterways) – create a short journal entry
on the following:
 Describe in detail a river or mountain range you had to cross.
 What difficulties or challenges did you face traveling?
 Make a detailed sketch of the river or mountains on the opposite page.
 Also, how did you feel when you finally saw the Pacific Ocean?
C. Journal 3: Scientific discoveries (plant and animal life) – create a short journal entry on
the following. Each of these can be a bulleted list of traits and characteristics.
 Pick 1 plant and 1 animal that you discovered along the way and describe each in
detail.
 Also include a sketch of the plant and animal (with a title)
D. Journal 4: Native American Tribes – you have encountered numerous Native American
tribes along the way. Create a journal entry describing the encounter or relationship.
 What is the name of the Tribe? Roughly where were you when you first came
into contact?
 Are the friendly and helpful or hostile and threatening?
 If helpful, how did they help you and the crew? If hostile, describe how they
acted towards you.
 Draw a sketch of one of the Natives or something associated with their tribe
(Weapon, tool, housing, etc...)
E.
Journal 5: Reflection of the Journey - in paragraph form, answer the following…
 Describe how you felt when you finally made it home.
 How long where you on the journey?
 What impact did you have on the future of the United States?
Once you have chosen the topics for each of your journal entries, you must do the
following:
Research using the sources below. Take notes / make rough drafts
Make sure to create the project as a journal (create a fake date at the top,
etc.) If you create a drawing, add notes to describe features.
Use a separate page for each Journal Entry / picture or sketch
Add a cover to your journal with your name and period in the lower right
hand corner.
Overall Resource:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/
Helpful web pages:
For animals and
Plants
lewis-clark.org/
mrnussbaum.com/lewis-clark/discoveries/
montanakids.com/history_and_prehistory/lewis_and_clark/plants_animals.htm
For information on
Native tribes
www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/native/
For natural land
Formations and
rivers
http://lewis-clark.org/
60
Points!