Today, I have some unit study ideas and my Lewis and Clark exploration lapbook. You’ll find more ideas on my page Lewis and Clark. Grab more ideas on my lapbook ideas page. Also grab more ideas on my best homeschool unit studies page.
Studying Lewis and Clark is not only an exciting action-packed history topic, but it covers many subtopics.
During Lewis and Clark’s exploration, they learned about the plants and animals of the areas they passed through.
In addition, they interacted with Native Americans and learned much about the geography of the area known as the Louisiana Territory.
In less than three years, the Corps of Discovery traveled over 8000 miles.
About the Louisiana Purchase
Why were Americans interested in the Louisiana Purchased? Prior to that time the western boundary was the Mississippi River.
And Americans wanted to trade further west.
In 1803, President Jefferson negotiated a deal with Napoleon Bonaparte, the leader of France.
President Jefferson needed to find a way to explore the land and he wanted to use the natural resources for the good of the country.
However, there were many tribes that inhabited the area west of the Mississippi River which President Jefferson informed Lewis and Clark about.
However, Lewis and Clark has no way of knowing they there were so many Native Americans who inhabited the vast lands.
For example, there were tribes like the Osages, Kiowas, Cheyenne, Crow, Chinook, Sioux, Shoshone, Pawnee, and many more.
In addition, look at these other topics you can cover in your unit study.
- Flora and Fauna along the Lewis and Clark Trail.
- Life of the Native Americans they met along the way.
- Geography of the United States west of the Mississippi.
- Life in the 1800s.
- The relationship and history between the United States and France.
- Learn about Napoleon Bonaparte.
- Read primary sources like the letter President Jefferson wrote about the Louisiana Purchase.
Lewis and Clark Exploration Hands-on Activities
Moreover, a Lewis and Clark unit study and lapbook lends well to tons of fun hands-on activities.
Activities are numerous and I a few here to get your creative juices flowing.
- 22 Free Lewis & Clark Activity Posters (You Don’t Want to Miss These)
- Mighty Mississippi book & Sediment Activity
- Cooking on the Trail
- Lewis and Clark Expedition – The Ultimate Guide
- Lewis and Clark Louisiana Purchase Edible Map
- Hands-on History. Make a Char Cloth
- How To Make An Easy Ink pot & Quill Pen with Berry Ink
- Free Westward Ho History Cards
- 10 Westward Expansion History Fun Coloring Pages
Also, you can use some other resources to this lapbook instead of purchasing a curriculum.
Then, you can go down any rabbit trail you wanted to learn how Lewis and Clark explored.
Books About Lewis and Clark
15 Lewis and Clark | Sacagawea Exploration Unit Study Resources
Lewis and Clark is one of the most significant periods in American history and you can spend weeks exploring the lands and people west of the Mississippi with these fun books and resources.
Appealing art and descriptive text bring Lewis and Clark alive for young adventurers. Carefully chosen text from Lewis and Clark's actual journals opens a fascinating window into this country's exciting history.
Explore one of the most recognized figures in American history with this biography of Sacagawea. Kids will learn about her crucial role in the Lewis and Clark expedition and her influential legacy. The level 3 text provides accessible, yet wide-ranging, information for independent readers.
Commissioned in 1803 by President Thomas Jefferson to explore and open up this vast territory, Lewis and Clark felt it was the realization of a lifelong dream. Against the hardships of the wilderness, possible attack by hostile Indians, sudden blizzards and terrifying natural obstacles, these two men led the Corps of Discovery ably and nobly to complete their mission. Their Corps included American Indians from the Sioux, Mandan, Shoshone, Clatsop and Chopunnish tribes. Sacajawea, the only woman on the trip, was a Shoshone woman who contributed invaluable service as interpreter and guide. Daugherty's evocative sepia and black ink illustrations depict individuals of humor, vitality, passion, and strength.
From the New York Times bestselling author the definitive book on Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the Louisiana Purchase, the most momentous expedition in American history and one of the great adventure stories of all time.
The only book ever written that tells the eyewitness truth about this famous teenage Indian mother who was indispensable to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
On May 14, 1804, the Corps of Discovery set out from Camp Dubois, Illinois, heading westward under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his Second Lieutenant, William Clark. While Lewis led the group in terms of rank, the two men became de facto equals, giving their names jointly to a journey that would shape the future of the fledgling United States — the Lewis and Clark Expedition. This book presents journal entries taken directly from the expedition.
Describes how Sacagawea found adventure guiding Lewis and Clark to the Oregon coast.
Take Your Own Journey through History on the Lewis & Clark Trail! Follow the journey of the Corps of Discovery from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello through the Midwest and the Rockies, to the Pacific Ocean and back with this detailed chronicle of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. This third edition of the classic guidebook features accessible text that combines the historical sites and color maps that merge the past and present in a user-friendly and entertaining way.
When Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the "Corp of Discovery" left St. Louis, Missouri, on May 1, 1804, their mission was to explore the vast, unknown territory acquired a year earlier in the Louisiana Purchase. The travelers hoped to find a waterway that crossed the western half of the United States. They didn't. However, young readers will love this true-life adventure tale of the two-year journey that finally brought the explorers to the Pacific Ocean.
In this epic graphic novel, follow the dramatic story of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In 1804, these two explorers, along with their "Corps of Discovery," traversed the unmapped American West, leading to scientific discoveries, interactions with Native nations, and route to the Pacific Ocean. Dramatic illustrations and fast-paced text provide a "you-are-there" experience. With extensive back matter, including a bibliography, extended reading list, glossary, and further Internet sources, young readers will gobble up this action-packed comic book about one of history's most compelling moments.
In The Oregon Trail: The Journey Across the Country from Lewis and Clark to the Transcontinental Railroad, readers ages 9 to 12 can delve into the explorations of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and other explorers. They can learn about the more than half a million people who followed during the nineteenth century. What challenges did these pioneers face on the 2,170-mile journey? How were Native American tribes and nations affected by this mass migration? Primary sources allow readers to feel like a part of the Oregon Trail experience while biographical sidebars will introduce the compelling people who were part of this time in U.S. history. Investigative, hands-on projects and critical thinking activities such as writing a treaty and researching artistic impressions of the Oregon Trail invite readers to further their understanding of life on the trail, early towns and forts, and the Transcontinental Railroad that followed the wagons into new lands and territories that would eventually become states.
A trade paperback edition of the award-winning tale of the journey of Lewis and Clark. When Seaman, a Newfoundland dog, met his new master in August of 1803, he didn't know that he would spend the next three years on an adventure of more than 8,000 miles to the Pacific Ocean and back. Seaman's Journal is based on actual entries in Meriwether Lewis s journal describing Seaman, and it presents an account of the Lewis and Clark expedition as seen from the viewpoint of Lewis s dog. Join Seaman before the trip as preparations take place. Meet the Native American guides and friends they encountered along the way. And read of Seaman s love for Sacajawea, the Shoshone woman whose husband acted as interpreter and guide. Ages 5-8.
Describes the expedition led by Lewis and Clark to explore the unknown western regions of America at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Following Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s Corps of Discovery as they navigate the muddy Missouri River and begin a great adventure, this activity book is set against the background of the vast North American continent. It takes children from President Jefferson’s vision of an exploratory mission across a continent full of unique plants and animals through their dangerous and challenging journey into the unknown to the expedition’s triumphant return to the frontier town of St. Louis. Twenty-one activities bring to life the Native American tribes they encountered, the plants and animals they discovered, and the camping and navigating techniques they used. A glossary of terms and listings of Lewis and Clark sites, museums, and related websites round out this comprehensive activity book.
Sacajawea was a brilliant, multilingual Shoshone girl who was torn from her home at a young age. In 1804, she set out with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide across hundreds of miles of unmapped land to reach the Pacific Ocean. Almost 200 years later, she became the first Indigenous woman to appear on a US coin. This is her story.
Finally, look at the minibooks in the Lewis and Clark lapbook.
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Lewis and Clark Lapbook, Notebooking Pages, and Coloring Pages
Below, look at the minibooks which come with this lapbook.
In addition, there are more minibooks than you need to fill one lapbook.
I include these in your lapbook so that if you want to study different subtopics you have a minibook.
Too, don’t forget we created this lapbook by turning the file folder landscape.
Now, here is a list of the pages which come with your purchase.
- 3 pages which can be used for the outside cover – the pages are created for landscape layout
- 5 coloring pages – which are created portrait. These can be used to include your younger children or use them for outside cover pages if you turn your file folder portrait instead of landscape.
- 4 minipockets and minibook with lines – 1 each for Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Sacagawea, and The Enlisted Men.
- 4 minipockets and minibook with no lines – 1 each for Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, Sacagawea, and The Enlisted Men. This allows your child to draw or cut off the other side to use for memory, games, or add any other information. They are very flexible.
- Doctoring in the Wilderness minibook – Have your child learn the names of a few herbs.
- The Mission. Have your child describe what is the purpose of the mission or how it came about.
- How Long Was the Journey minibook with timeline
- What Did They Take minibook. Cut out pictures and talk about what they carried on the journey and why it was needed.
- Map of the Expedition. Locate the places on the map.
- Indian Country – Learn about the Native Americans Lewis and Clark encountered.
- Geography on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Write some brief points about geography.
- Botany Book 1 and Botany Book 2. Learn about some of the plants along the way.
