Today, we’re making char cloth. Also, look at my page Lewis and Clark Fun Homeschool Unit Study and Lapbook for more activities.
We looked over the list of supplies that Lewis and Clark took with them on their expedition.
It sparked a few ideas of some hands-on things to make.
First, review the list of Lewis and Clark Expedition supplies here.
Several items looked pretty interesting to attempt to make.
However, but we honed in on the skills and supplies needed to start a fire.
A flint and steel would have been kept handy.
And no doubt some kind of cloth or charred cloth to ignite a spark and start the fire.
But first, look at some books to add to your learning day.
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.
In addition, look at what is a char cloth.
Making Char Cloth
This was a good definition Wikipedia had of char cloth.
Also called charpaper, charred clothed is a swatch of fabric made from vegetable fiber (such as linen, cotton or jute) that has been converted via pyrolysis into a slow-burning fuel of very low ignition temperature. It can be ignited by a single spark that can in turn be used to ignite a tinder bundle to start a fire.
Our activity today give Tiny some science research.
It got us thinking on the flammability of fabrics, like cotton versus wool and silk and linen.
Too, grab this Great Balls of Fire free pdf download. This gives another hands-on activity to learn about flammability of fabrics.
It just added to what we were learning about today.
Besides, it highlights one of the easiest and natural ways to start a fire.
Also, Tiny did a bit of research on how wood gets charred.
Because we had most of the items in the house for a quick activity, we decided to make easy charred cloth.
Look at the items we used:
- Altoid can or other tin can with snug fitting lid
- Ice pick or knife or some other really sharp object to poke a hole in the lid
- Fire
- Cotton (has to be all cotton) cloth. We used cleaning rag remnants.
We tore part of the rag into small pieces of cloth that easily fit into the Altoid can. We had enough room around them so they could breath or have room around the edges.
Then we poked a hole in the top of the Altoid can with an ice pick.
After putting the cloth in the tin, we set it on a fire.
We used a candle we had and didn’t need. Now, we did school for the day while this stayed on the fire a good part of the day.
Hands-on History Lewis and Clark
A faster way is to put the can in a fireplace inside your home or make a fire outside.
Our weather was nice today, but this easily could be a great activity to do in the winter.
Not only could you use your indoor fireplace, but you could use the charred cloth afterwards to spark a fire.
Anyway, we just placed our can on the candle like I said for most of the day so it would smoke slowly and char the cloth.
After it completely cools, which is real important otherwise it burns up, open it up to examine the cloth.
We have several nice pieces of charred cloth to use to ignite a fire.
Besides, you never know when you may be called upon at a moment’s notice to build a fire while on the frontier.
Tiny loves movies about surviving and wilderness living (me too) and so this is just another fun activity we learned about using natural fibers and materials to start a raging fire and no doubt some of the same things that Lewis and Clark had to know.
Here is another good set of instructions from instructables using blue jeans.
GRAB THESE OTHER RESOURCES AND HANDS-ON IDEAS
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