PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: A LEWIS AND CLARK FESTIVAL
THEME
Research--gathering data--is the basis of the scientific method.
Another important characteristic is sharing the data with others.
In the preceding lesson and activities, students have been assigned
only one phase of the Lewis and Clark Trail or one member of the
Corps of Discovery. In this lesson and accompanying activities,
students share their knowledge with classmates, parents, and friends.
GOALS
- To enable students to comprehend the entire expedition.
- To acquaint students with lesser-known members of the Corps
of Discovery.
- To emphasize that sharing information is an important characteristic
of the scientific method.
- To enhance social, verbal, artistic, and kinesthetic skills
through the presentation of information.
OBJECTIVES
When the activities are completed students will be able to:
- Briefly describe the seven ecological zones through which the
Corps of Discovery passed.
- Identify at least five members of the Corps of Discovery besides
the captains, and the Charbonneau family.
- Describe the lifestyle of one American Indian tribe.
- Identify and give both sides of a current environmental problem
facing the ecological zones along then Lewis and Clark Trail.
IMPLEMENTATION: SUGGESTIONS FOR A LEWIS AND CLARK FESTIVAL
Setup
If possible, hold the festival in a room large enough to set up
a table for each group on which members may display their projects
and carry out their demonstrations. Arrange the tables in the sequence
of the journey--woodlands to tall grass prairies, to high plains,
etc. Have a student from each group act as a guide to lead visitors
through their zone. If the festival is held in the classroom, assign
an area of the room to each group.
Procedures
Groups meet to decide how to present their information. They may
choose from a list of suggested activities, (below) or generate
their own ideas subject to the approval of the teacher. Groups are
encouraged to select different projects from each other in order
to have a variety of examples for the festival.
Projects
- Moving Panorama
Before moving pictures on film were invented, audiences thrilled
to moving panoramas. Artists painted large fabric strips with
scenic views, historic events, or scenes from literary works.
The painted fabric was wound on rollers and then unrolled before
an audience by a mechanical device. Directions are given for making
a model of a moving panorama on which to present the results of
the group's research. (Click HERE
for complete instructions.)
- Folding Panorama
A more simple, space-saving kind of panorama is a folding screen
made of light cardboard panels.
This project also offers an opportunity for recycling empty cereal
boxes, soda cartons, etc. Glue
pictures of the expedition (hand drawn or cut from magazines and
brochures) on the panels. Punch
holes on the sides of the panels and connect them to each other
with yarn or string. (Click
HERE for complete instructions.)
- Plant Preservation
Hundreds of plant samples unknown in the eastern United States
were collected during the expedition. Today, 212 of the original
plant specimens are housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences
in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Learn how to dry plants, particularly
flowers. Press some of them, mount them on heavy paper and label
them. Try to find some of the same specimens to dry that Lewis
and Clark found. For drying instructions, click on the following:
http://homeschooling.about.com/library/weekly/aa012700b.htm
http://www.digital.net/golfview/wildflowers/art.htm#.
Also see Lewis and Clark for
Kids by Janis Herbert, p. 17.
For the festival, exhibit your dried plants and explain how you
prepared them. Find pictures of Lewis' original specimens in a
book and make copies to display with your specimens. Create a
brochure to hand out to classmates and visitors. In the brochure
tell the story of Lewis' plant specimens--how they were collected
and dried on the trail, and what happened to them after Lewis
left them in Philadelphia upon his return. (The story is fascinating!)
For assistance, check the public library for:
Lewis and Clark, Pioneering Naturalists by Paul Russell
Cutright. See also "Well-Traveled Plants of Lewis and Clark"
by Paul Russell Cutright in We Proceeded On, February,
1978." We Proceeded Onis a journal published by the
Lewis and Clark National Trail heritage Foundation and copies
may be found in many libraries. The plant specimens are now kept
at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. To learn more,
click on http://www.acnatsci.org/research/biodiv/lewis&clark/.
- Food and cooking
Prepare some of the foods the Corps of Discovery cooked and ate
on the journey. (NOTE: Health department regulations in some places
ban the serving of food in public places without a license, so
besure to check before you decide to serve samples.) If serving
samples is not possible, cook some of the foods for display and
print recipes for classmates and visitors. Set up a demonstration
of how cooking was done on the trail. For information see: Cooking
on the Lewis and Clark Expedition by Mary Gunderson. This
interesting book includes illustrations and descriptions of everyday
life on the trail, cooking methods, foods eaten by the Corps members
and easy-to-prepare recipes. Also see Lewis and Clark for Kids
by Janis Herbert, p.44.
- Model Making
Animals: Create some of the animals the Corps of Discovery
encountered on their journey from paper mache or modeling clay.
Display them on pedestals with information about them attached
to the bases, or in appropriate natural settings. Search your
school or public library for books on creating paper mache and
clay models. The Internet also has many sites. For example, click
on the following sites:
http://www.makestuff.com
Type paper mache in Keyword Search
http://www.cp.duluth.mn.us/~sarah/rdr010.html
Look for other sites using keywords paper mache and clay modeling.
Ecological zones: Make a model of your ecological zone.
Search the library and Internet for instructions and ideas. For
help with a prairie model, click on http://www1.umn.edu/bellmuse/mnideals/prairie/
For help with a wetlands model, click on http://www.dnr.cornell.edu/SAREP/Kids/experiments/build.html
American Indian Dwellings: The American Indians lived in a variety
of dwellings, each suited to the ecological zone in which they
lived. Make a model of the type of dwelling that was common in
your zone. Consult books on American Indian lifestyles for examples.
To get started, try this Internet site:http://www.kstrom.net/isk/maps/houses/housingmap.html
- Music and Dancing
Music and dancing were extremely important for keeping up morale
on the long, difficult journey. The Corps of Discovery was lucky
to have two fiddlers among them--George Gibson and Pierre Cruzatte.
Gibson's fiddling is mentioned only once in the journals but Cruzatte's
musical performances are mentioned many times. He frequently charmed
Indian hosts and visitors while other Corps members danced.
In turn, the Corps members were often entertained by Indians with
their own styles of music and dancing. For example, on October
16, 1805 Captain Clark wrote in his journal, "After we had
our camp fixed and fires made, a Chief came from their camp which
was about ¼ of a mile up the Columbia River at the head
of about 200 men, singing and beating on their drums stick and
keeping time to the music. They formed a half circle around us
and sung for some time."
With other members of your group, research and perform some of
the popular songs and dances of that time. Perhaps someone in
your class or school can accompany you on the fiddle. Cassettes
and CD ROMs with music from this period are available. A good
one is Lewis and Clark: Sounds of Discovery.
Research the music, instruments, and dancing of the native peoples
in your zone. Learn some songs and dance steps to perform at the
festival. (For dances, see Lewis and Clark for Kids by Janis Herbert,
p. 64.) Search the Internet and check the school and public libraries
for recordings of Indian music.
- Puppet show
Exciting stories from the journals may be recreated by means of
a puppet show. For best results, choose a story with only a few
characters. Write a script and have the puppeteers say the lines.
An alternate idea is to write a dramatic description of the event
and have a group member narrate it as the action takes place.
Puppets may be handmade from a variety of materials--cloth, paper
mache, paper bags, styrofoam and so forth. Look for patterns at
fabric stores and craft shops. Search the Internet and visit the
craft section of your library. Some books on puppet making are
Make Your Own Performing Puppets by Teddy Cameron Long,
and Hand Puppets: How to Make and Use Them by Laura Ross.
Create a Lewis and Clark puppet theater from a large box and paint
it with wilderness scenes and other illustrations related to the
expedition. For more information about making a puppet theater,
try Internet keywords: puppet stage, puppet theater
- Skits/Tableau
Write and perform a skit dramatizing a story from the journals
with students playing the roles. If possible, create or improvise
appropriate costumes for the characters. If this is not possible,
write the names of the characters on pieces of poster board and
loop them around the necks of the performers. An alternate idea
is to do a tableau where the actors pose for a scene as if they
were in a painting or a photograph. Actors neither speak nor move
while a narrator describes the scene. Ask the drama teacher at
your school for assistance in writing and performing skits and
tableaus.
- Video
Video tape the activities, presentations, and festival preparations
throughout the entire Lewis and Clark unit. Show the tape continuously
during the festival or as a grand finale at the end.
GOOD LUCK AND HAVE FUN WHILE LEARNING!
 
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