Missouri Digital Heritage :: Education :: Mapping Lews & Clark in Missouri

MISSOURI STATE ARCHIVES
Mapping Lewis & Clark in Missouri Curriculum

To commemorate the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial in Missouri, it is our goal that students of history understand the importance of the Corps of Discovery, as well as the significant role Missouri played in the Expedition and larger story of westward expansion. To this end, the Missouri State Archives, a division of the Secretary of State's Office, has worked for several years to promote research and publication on many important topics included in what is commonly referred to as "Lewis and Clark."

Foremost among efforts is the Archives' commissioned Historic Landscape Project, in which the University of Missouri's Geographic Resources Center combined nineteenth century land survey records held at the Archives with modern mapping technology. The result is a singular series of maps covering both the Mississippi and Missouri river corridors, showing the natural landscape in the days when a vast western frontier was just beginning to be explored. Missouri's Lewis and Clark history is unique among the many trail states in that no other collection of contemporary records paralleling the time of the Expedition's passage exists.

The Missouri State Archives requested that the Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet) and eMINTS program (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) create curriculum units based on the historic landscape maps. The resulting lessons were developed for elementary, middle, and high school levels. The material is grounded in geography to awaken in students a greater awareness of the human need to define and describe the space around us, as well as an appreciation for the spirit of discovery as evidenced in the compelling drama of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Furthermore, each unit was designed to meet grade-specific Show-Me and MAP performance standards, and lessons within units are supported by detailed instruction, as well as evaluative rubrics for ease in analyzing student performance. Specifically:

• "Learning about Mapping from Lewis and Clark" is a five-lesson unit constructed to aid fourth graders in exploring the historic landscape and promote an understanding of and appreciation for maps.

• "Learning about River Ecosystems from Lewis and Clark" is designed to teach eighth graders about the changes that rivers undergo over time. The seven lessons in this interactive unit provide students the opportunity to explore and navigate within the historic landscape maps.

• "Learning about the Missouri River Project and Lewis and Clark" is aimed at secondary students in grades 9-12. In this two-lesson unit, students build a graphic organizer to compare the Missouri River of today to the river on which Lewis and Clark journeyed west.

It is our hope that the Mapping Lewis and Clark in Missouri Curriculum will be used and enjoyed by educators and students alike. For further information contact the Historical Educator, at (573) 526-5296.

A Special Note about MOREnet:
"The Missouri Research and Education Network (MOREnet) provides Internet connectivity, access to Internet2, technical support, videoconferencing services, and training to Missouri's K-12 schools, colleges and universities, public libraries, health care, state government, and other affiliates.

The eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) program is an integral part of a statewide effort to move Missouri's classrooms into the 21st century by combining cutting-edge technology with first-class teaching. MOREnet administers eMINTS under contract from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)."