David McHugh
American History
Jeffersonian DemocracyCorps of Discovery Cross-Curricular Journal
I. Goal: The student will trek with Lewis and Clark and create a journal based on their discoveriesover a seven day period.
II. Instructional Goals: The student will:
1. assess their knowledge of the Corps of Discovery through a written pretest.
2. follow the journey of Lewis and Clark on the internet.
3. record data on events, dates, places, people, animals, distance traveled, and geographic coordinates.
4. create 12 original journal entries based on the interactive web site and web links.
5. identify an label geographic locations and their coordinates, rivers, mountains, and forts along the journey.
6. estimate the distance traveled in miles between 5 legs of the journey to the Pacific Ocean.
7. create a bar graph which represents the mileage per leg.
8. create a chart of animals encountered, their classification, and usefulness to man.
III. Student Entry Level: The students are progressing through the early years of the United States of America. Upon entering the Jefferson Era, the students were asked about the most significant event that took place during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. The students identified the Louisiana Purchase. This answer led into this unit of discovery.
IV. Desired Mastery Level: The students will master with 100% accuracy the relevant names of this journey and its goals. The students will demonstrate their knowledge of graphing, estimation, classification, and writing in their completed journals with a 90% accuracy.
V. Set: The students will stand around the main computer terminal and watch the teacher access the National Geographic web site and link onto the Corps of Discovery interactive feature.
VI. Instruction:
1. Teacher will hand out unit direction guide and will read it aloud to the class.
2. Student will listen and ask questions regarding project.
3. T.W. demonstrate coordinate graphing on overhead
4. S.W. practice graphing skills on worksheet.
5. T.W. will demonstrate how to classify animals.
6. S.W. practice classifying animals.
7. T.W. identify and characterize climate regions
8. S.W. practice identifying climates based on general characteristics.
9. T.W. demonstrate mileage estimation using a string and a ruler.
10. S.W. practice estimation.
11. T.W. demonstrate how to create a bar graph.
12. S.W. practice graphing.
13. T.W. demonstrate how to extract relevant information from the web sites and create an original entry.
14. S.W. practice this skill using articles from newspapers.
15. T.W. assign a schedule for class time computer use.
16. S.W. use computer when scheduled and work independently at desk when not on the computer.
VII. Monitor and Adjusting: The students will practice these skills until the teacher feels they have a solid understanding of each. While the students are working on their projects, the teacher will assist those on the computers and desks who are encountering difficulty.
VIII. Supervised Practice: The students will practice these skills independently, with peers, and together as a class to ensure comprehension. These skills will be assessed in the finished journal.
IX. Closure: With several minutes remaining each day, the teacher will ask the students to orally recall the purpose of this unit. If assistance is needed, the teacher will ask several students to read from the unit direction guide handed out earlier.
X. Reteaching: The students who perform below expectations will be given the opportunity to further practice the unit skills and turn in a modified version of their journal at a later date.
XI. Materials: www.nationalgeographic.com, The American Nation - Prentice Hall, overhead projector, skill practice activities, United States map, atlases, colored pencils, classroom computers, web links, unit direction guide, notebook, rulers
