Archives

Explore Every Trail - menu page with six choices of people or communities on the Lewis and Clark Trail

People You’d Meet on the Lewis & Clark Trail

Leave a reply

by Lacey Schweitzer, Longfellow Elementary School

Standard:

H.3_5.9 – I can explain how individuals and groups contributed to North Dakota.

Time

The unit will take 8-9 class periods, a total of 320 – 360 minutes. Each lesson requires 40 minutes.

Technology Needed:

Internet connection on a PC or Chromebook laptop, tablet, or phone. NOTE: The unit includes videos that are hosted on YouTube. If your school network blocks YouTube access for students, you may want to plan to show these from the teacher computer during class time.

Summary:

This Unit plan on Lewis & Clark will cover how individuals and groups contributed to North Dakota. These individuals and groups include: Corps of Discovery, Sacagawea, expedition, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Thomas Jefferson, Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara, Sioux, Chippewa, Metis, tribe, sovereign, treaty, reservation. Students will be able to describe the effects of the Lewis and Clark expedition in North Dakota history and be able to explain the contributions of Native Americans in North Dakota. Students will follow along by creating a Lewis & Clark journal, which will be based off of the readings completed in the Frontier Era of North Dakota textbook. 

Lesson

  1. Introduce the unit with the downloadable Google Slides presentation is available here and as a PowerPoint presentation here. This presentation helps students gain a perspective on the adventure that the Corps of Discovery went through. Students will also be introduced to Native Americans who contributed to the discovery and how they helped shape North Dakota. NOTE: Assigned pages refer to the specific textbook used in North Dakota fourth-grade classrooms. Teachers using a different textbook will need to revise the presentation to match the pages in their textbook.
  2. Students watch the video: The Making of a Nation: Louisiana Purchase
  3. Students create a journal they will use as they read about the expedition in their textbook. Instructions for journal entries are given in the introductory presentation (#1)
  4. Students watch the video: Lewis and Clark: An American Adventure Story
  5. Students read about the expedition in the textbook used at their school. Alternatively, students can read from The Frontier Era of North Dakota, available online.
  6. Students read assigned pages on the Lewis and Clark and write in their journals. It is advisable to review each day’s assignment from the presentation.
  7. Group assignment #1: Students work in groups to research a member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
  8. Group assignment #2: Students meet in new groups and share the results of their research.

Game

For a review, students will play the game – “Math and Science on the Lewis & Clark Trail”.

Assessment

Students will take the post-assessment test. Teachers will be able to check for understanding, based on the data from the assessment. 

You are Here: On the Lewis and Clark Trail - splash screen from game

What was life like in Lewis & Clark’s America?

Leave a reply

by Zoe Hodenfield, Longfellow Elementary School

Standards

North Dakota State Standards

 G.3_5.8 Analyze patterns of human settlement in North America 

G.3_5.6 Explain how United States regions are created from common physical and human characteristics 

H.3_5.6 Describe multiple causes and effects of contemporary global events and developments in relation to the United States. 

⏰ Time

45 – 60 minutes

📲 Technology Required

Device with web-browser – Chromebook, laptop or desktop computer to play game.

Teacher will need either a projector/ smart board to show pictures OR will need to print the images to distribute OR share a link to students to see on their own devices.

NOTE: The slides presentation refers to a specific curriculum, TCI, which may not be available at your school, but alternate curriculum can be substituted.

📃 Summary

Students observe and discuss changes in the geography and society of the U.S. through 1806. They read passages on the U.S. in the late 18th and early 19th century, discuss with a partner and brief knowledge checks. The lesson culminates with a game that teaches about scientific knowledge along the trail.

📚Lesson

Start with this Google Slides presentation which includes images for activities and instructions to students. It uses the TCI curriculum materials but the slides can be copied and modified. Template slides for drag and drop activities are included.

  1. Anticipatory set: Set up the lesson by having students look at an image in the presentation, an artist’s representation of the expedition, and give their initial reactions.
  2. Class discussion: Students look at two different maps and share their observations about each one.
  3. Individual reading: Students read a passage on the United States in 1783.
  4. Individual knowledge check: Students drag and drop events in order.
  5. Partner activity: Students read a passage on the Lewis and Clark Expedition
  6. Partner knowledge check: Students drag and drop events in order.
  7. Individual interactive media: Students play the game: You Are Here: On the Lewis & Clark Trail. This game teaches about the scientific contributions made by Merriwether Lewis and William Clark, as well as the scientific knowledge of the Native American communities they visited along the trail.
Four soldiers working on a transmitter. Caption of black and white photo says code talkers

Native American Veterans Research Project

Leave a reply

Standards

This project specifically addresses historical inquiry, as defined by the C3 Framework and quoted in the California Department of Education History Social Science Framework.

“Historical inquiry involves acquiring knowledge about significant events, developments, individuals, groups, documents, places, and ideas to support investigations about the past. Acquiring relevant knowledge requires assembling information from a wide variety of sources in an integrative process. Students might begin with key events or individuals introduced by the teacher or identified by educational leaders at the state level, and then investigate them further.”

Technology required

Device with a browser for Warrior Vets game and to create slide presentation.

Time

2 – 3 hours of class time. Out of class time varies by student.

Lesson Summary

Students hear a presentation on the assignment, play a game introducing several Native American veterans and then conduct their own on-line research with the help of the provided research guides.

I’ve used a similar assignment with my eleventh-grade students but I am considering revising it for use in ninth-grade as well.

Lesson

Day 1: In-class

Day 2: In-class

Day 3: Student presentations (optional)

Teachers may elect to have students present in class as either a requirement or for extra credit. Alternatively, depending on class time and students’ level, teachers may elect to simply have the presentations submitted for a grade.

Four soldiers working on a transmitter. Caption of black and white photo says code talkers
Three Native American soldiers, two men, one woman.

Cross-curricular lesson on Native American vets

2 Replies

CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.7.RP.A.1 Analyze proportional relationships and use them to solve real-world and mathematical problems.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.1 Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.6-8.6 Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and present the relationships between information and ideas clearly and efficiently.

⏰ Time

Three to four hours. Time varies depending on the time allowed for research online and whether presentation will be submitted in writing or include presentation or video.

📲 Technology Required

Either a project or smart board connected to the computer will be required to view presentation in class and students will need a computer or tablet to conduct research on the web. The game can be played on any computer or tablet with Internet access.

Summary

This cross-curricular lesson includes history, mathematics, English language arts, computer applications and physical education. Students play a game which teaches about Native American veterans in World War I. They are given a presentation on the accomplishments of veteran, Joseph Oklahombi. In P.E. class, students sprint 210 yards to simulate Oklahombi’s attack. They are assigned to create a presentation to nominate Oklahombi for the Congressional Medal of Honor. This may include Google Slides, PowerPoint or video presentations.

Lesson

Presentation in Social Studies

Use the Google slides presentation to teach information about Joseph Oklahombi and Native American participation in World War I. They are given a presentation that includes information on the accomplishments of veteran, Joseph Oklahombi, including the ratio of enemy prisoners captured to American soldiers in his unit. The presentation also discusses the failure of the U.S. government to recognize soldiers like Oklahombi as citizens and the subsequent congressional acts that addressed this issue.

Have students play the Native American veterans game and select the section on World War I veterans.

Screenshot of menu with 5 choices, World War I , Women Veterans, War Stories, Famous Veterans and one, unlabeled, picture of a man in a war bonnet

Writing Assignment

The writing assignment and an outline for a guide are included in the presentation. This can be printed or copied and distributed to students through Google Classroom, Schoology or other CMS.

Physical Education

During P.E., have students measure out 210 yards, set out obstacles to dodge and jump over (backpacks with stacks of books would be a good choice) and sprint down the course, simulating Oklahombi’s attack on the machine gun nests.

Mathematics

Two ratios are computed in the presentation. The teacher may ask students to compute these individually and then present the answer. This lesson may be included as part of the ratio and proportion unit.

Computer Applications

Students will need to access the internet for their research. There are many reputable sites with information on Joseph Oklahombi, including the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, Oklahoma Historical Society, Veteran’s Administration and more. Optionally, students may submit their assignment as a video or slide presentation or write it using a word processor.

Differentiation

For students who have learning disabilities or other limits on writing ability, an oral presentation or video may be submitted in lieu of the written assignment.