Curated OER
Westward Ho!
For any teacher of American History, The Lewis and Clark Expedition is a watershed event that should be shared with your students. This is a very good instructional activity on the Expedition, and the events that led up to it; including...
Curated OER
The Louisiana Purchase: Worksheet
Celebrate the anniversary of one of the United States' most important land acquisitions with a fun worksheet. The class answers five matching questions related to those involved with the Louisiana Purchase and then think about what life...
Curated OER
Louisiana State History: Study Guide Presentation
Review a lesson on Louisiana's state history with a study guide. There are 12 questions and 12 answers related to Louisiana becoming a state. Each question requires learners to fill in the blank or provide a single word answer.
Curated OER
Mapping America
While learning about the Louisiana Purchase, pupils practice map skills. This motivating lesson has them answer questions about the Louisiana Territory and the United States. It provides a quick and easy way review of skills and the...
Curated OER
Corps of Discovery: Voyaging with Lewis and Clark
Students include maps, drawings, and personal reflections in a journal they keep while "accompanying" Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition of the Louisiana Territory.
Curated OER
East Meets West: Americans on the Move
Students examine the settlement of the Louisiana Territory. For this Westward Expansion lesson, students watch segments of the Discovery video "East Meets West: Americans on the Move". Students conduct further research...
Curated OER
Grade 8 Unit 4
Eighth graders analyze aspirations and ideals of the people of the new nation, in terms of its physical landscapes and political divisions, and the territorial expansion of the United States during the terms of the first four presidents.
Library of Congress
Loc: Thomas Jefferson: The West
This resource explains Jefferson's interest in westward expansion while showing and describing many original documents.
US National Archives
Our Documents: The Louisiana Purchase Treaty (1803)
A fantastic site from the Our Documents group that allows visitors to see an original copy of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty of 1803. This treaty allowed the United States to purchase a tract of land west of the Mississippi River that was...
White House Historical Association
White House Historical Association: Thomas Jefferson and the Louisiana Territory
Information with lesson plan for grades 9-12 about Thomas Jefferson and the events surrounding his decision to purchase the Louisiana Territory.
Curated OER
National Park Service: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail is approximately 4,900 miles long, extending from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Columbia River, near present day Astoria, Oregon. It connects 16 states. Today, visitors can follow...
US National Archives
Docsteach: Lewis & Clark's Expedition to the Complex West
This activity can be used as an introduction or for a closer study of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. Students will learn that the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory in 1803 and President Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and...
Stanford University
Sheg: Document Based History: Reading Like a Historian: Louisiana Purchase
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read primary sources to solve a problem surrounding a historical question. In this document-based inquiry lesson, a timeline of the Louisiana Purchase along with letters by Federalist leaders...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Primary Source Set: The Lewis and Clark Expedition
A collection that uses primary sources to explore the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: William Clark 1770 1838
Brief biographical sketch of William Clark, an American explorer who led a famous expedition up the Missouri River to the Pacific Coast in 1804. Links to maps of the expedition.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Harcourt: Biographies: William Clark (Spanish)
Learn about the talented explorer William Clark who helped provide some of the first information about the new Louisiana Territory. William Clark had a life full of experiences that helped prepare him for this great adventure. (In Spanish)
University of Groningen
American History: Outlines: Louisiana and Britain
One of Jefferson's acts doubled the area of the country. At the end of the Seven Years' War, France had ceded to Spain the territory west of the Mississippi River, with the port of New Orleans near its mouth -- a port indispensable for...
US National Archives
Nara: American Originals: Louisiana Purchase Treaty
Wonderful NARA site that provides pictures of the original treaty and agreements of the Louisiana Purchase. Brief introduction discusses the amount of land purchased and the cost per acre described by the Purchase.
Other
Gateway New Orleans: Louisiana Purchase
Read a description of the terms of the Louisiana Purchase. There is a map to show the land that was included in this deal.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: American Presidency: Jefferson's Resolution
Reviews Thomas Jefferson's decision to acquire the Louisiana Territory.
US Mint
U.s. Mint: We're Going on a Bison Hunt [Pdf]
In this four-part lesson, examine the significance of the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's Expedition. Then take the students on a simulated bison hunt to understand the importance of the bison as a food and materials source in...
US Mint
U.s. Mint: Our Goal Pole [Pdf]
In this four-part lesson, students will demonstate knowledge of the sequencing of events by studying the westward journey, use terms that indicate the sequence of events and demonstrate an understanding of certain historical figures in...
US Mint
U.s. Mint: Which Came First? [Pdf]
Introduce students to the Louisiana Purchase and Lewis and Clark's Expedition. Then, using the tails side of the Keelboat Nickel as a guide, make a timeline of the westward journey.
US Mint
U.s. Mint: Let's Build a Map [Pdf]
In this four-part lesson, students study the map of the Louisiana Purchase and the trail of Lewis and Clark's Expedition. Then, build a classroom map displaying the events of the Westward Expansion.