Teach children about the maps Lewis and Clark made with this simple activity.
At a time when travel across the United States was much more dangerous and arduous than today, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark embarked upon an adventure of preposterous size and scope. They set out to explore the vast territory gained through the Louisiana Purchase, which today covers most of the Midwest and upper Northwest states. Help your kids gain a spirit of adventure by tracking Lewis and Clark's path with maps and videos.
Instructions
1. Use a computer with Internet connection to access the Public Broadcasting Society's Lewis and Clark website, which displays maps related to the Corps of Discovery's journey. You may also check with your local library about the availability of map reproductions from Lewis and Clark's journey. Ask children to make observations about the maps they view -- what stands out, what looks different and how they think the maps were created.
2. Discuss how Lewis and Clark made these maps by using a compass, marking landmarks as they were passed and a employing a keen sense of observation. Instruct students to locate a direction with the compass and discuss how it feels to use it, noting whether it is easy or hard.
3. Pass out a piece of graph paper to each child. Instruct the students to label the top of the page as north and label all seven remaining directions on the map as well. Have them make an "X" in the middle of the page. Tell them that one graph square = 10 feet, then begin giving them directions of lines to mark on their paper. For example, tell them to move 20 feet to the north and draw that line. Continue this way until you have instructed the child to make a line that would direct them out of the classroom and across the school campus to the library.
4. Instruct children to follow their maps to the library. Along the way, provide time for students to stop and draw things they notice on their graph paper. Come back to class and discuss the experience. Relate it to what it was like for Lewis and Clark to create maps of the Midwestern and Northwestern United States.
Tags: Lewis Clark, about maps, Clark made, graph paper, Instruct students, Lewis Clark made
