Lewis and Clark's Expedition

Wanted: Students willing to travel back in time to cover the Lewis and Clark expedition for CNN. Must be willing to face hunger, wild animals and extremely cold temperatures. Curiosity, good writing skills and sense of adventure a must.

Students in this class will participate in the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-1806, which charted the Louisiana Territory (our current Upper Midwest and Northwest) acquired by the United States from France. After examining the legends of the Northwest Passage as well as the Virginia and Philadelphia roots of the expedition, we will shove off from St. Louis and travel up the Missouri River to spend our first frigid winter in the Indian village of Fort Mandan. We will then continue our journey west to the headwaters of the Missouri, portage over the rugged Bitterroot Mountains and cruise westward to the Pacific. After spending a soggy winter in Washington state, we will return home, chronicling the scientific and geographic discoveries that made the Lewis and Clark expedition one of the most famous explorations of all time.

During the electronic part of our journey, students will be transported back to 1804 by their assignment editor (their teacher) to cover the trip for CNN. Every week, they will report back on some aspect of the trip (news, feature, photo), which will be broadcast on the VHS affiliate of CNN. As editor, the instructor will provide them with leads (current L&C web sites), which will be used to help them complete their assignments.

*This course may be appropriate for Gifted and Talented 8th grade students that meet all course prerequisites.*

Writing skills and ability to locate websites on the Internet

As a result of participating in this course, students will be able to:

1. Identify the contributions the Lewis and Clark journey made to the historical, geographic, scientific and ethnographic understanding of our country.

2. Effectively communicate these contributions to others, including their virtual classmates, their school, and the community at large.

3. Participate collaboratively in various research projects developed by the teacher.

4. Research and access primary and secondary sources of information in order to complete class research projects.

5. Develop a research portfolio that will contribute to an understanding of the Lewis and Clark expedition.