Students navigate through Lewis and Clark’s expedition using Google Earth. Students learn details about Lewis and Clark’s time in Idaho, their reasons for travel, and the impact of their encounters with American Indians. Students answer questions about what they’ve learned.
This lesson is part of "Great States: Idaho Unit 4: Explorers", which helps students to develop a balanced view of people who took the risk to travel, work, or settle in a new place. The materials and activities will highlight the strength and courage they demonstrated, however, the conflicts, struggles, and disappointments experienced by various groups of pioneers will also be examined.
4.SS.1.1.3: Explain the role of explorers and missionaries in the development of Idaho.
Boise District 413.11: Identify and verbalize the motivations of some of the early explorers to Idaho.
Boise District 413.12: Explain the accomplishments, significance and outcomes of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
- Interactive: Google Earth Story – Lewis and Clark
- A smart board, projector, or other type of screen to project the story to the class
- Class set of Idaho Map handout
- Class set of Lewis and Clark in Idaho handout
- Disperse the Idaho Map handout, which shows Lewis and Clark’s journey through Idaho. Explain they will refer to the map throughout this activity.
- Launch the Google Earth Story–Lewis and Clark and navigate through the story with your students. Some slides have pictures, while others have video clips about their entire journey.
- Hand out the Lewis and Clark in Idaho background, which further details their expedition while in Idaho. Have students take turns reading paragraphs aloud to the class. Have students underline or circle dates, places, and facts.
- Then ask the following questions as a classroom discussion:
- How long did the expedition stay in Idaho?
- With whom was Sacagawea reunited in Idaho?
- What tribes did they encounter on the expedition?
- Name two instances how the American Indians helped the men of the expedition.
- For most of 1805 and then returned in May 1806
- Her brother, who was the Chief of the Shoshones, Chief Cameahwait
- Shoshone, Salish, Nez Perce
- Answers should include: provided food, provided horses, helped explain the terrain, watched their horses and saddles until they returned to retrieve them