Lewis+and+Clark+Lesson+3

Lesson 3: Who's Who in Philadelphia

OBJECTIVES
Students will:


 * gather and analyze information from primary documents and short biographies to infer the role and importance of each person in Lewis's training for his expedition

MATERIALS
STUDENT READINGS



__IMAGES__

Benjamin S. Barton

Benjamin Rush

Robert Patterson

Andrew Ellicott

Charles Willson Peale, self-portrait

Astronomy notebook

Mastodon tooth

__WEB SITE LINKS__

Monticello Web Site [|www.monticello.org/jefferson/lewisandclark/aps.html]

Biographies of Ellicott, Barton, Wister, Rush, and Patterson, photocopied or available online: Lifelong Learning, The Lewis and Clark Rediscovery Project [|www.l3-lewisandclark.com/ShowOneObject.asp?SiteID=29&ObjectID=453] ACTIVITY SHEETS



OPENING
Besides Peale's Museum, the other center of learning was the American Philosophical Society, an organization of members dedicated to research and accumulation of knowledge about the scientific world. The society encouraged research on topics like ship pumps, stoves, peach blight, dyes, and street lighting as well as more abstract subjects. Lewis spent time in May 1803 absorbing the advice of the learned men who frequented the museum and the philosophical society. On their recommendations, he assembled a reference library of books to take on the expedition. The eclectic titles encompassed geography, mathematics, astronomy, mineralogy, botany, and zoology.

PROCEDURE
1. Students will read letters and biographies and record information on an attribute web about their person, being sure to include their area of expertise or field of study. You may find the document-analysis guide helpful in directing your analysis of the letters. The caption with the image also provides information. 2. Reporters from each group will share information about their person with the whole class.

Homework 10
Close with a discussion:

Using the information from the letters and the biographies, what do you think Lewis learned from each person that helped him prepare for his expedition? Be sure to cite evidence from the letters. List the name of each person and the role he played.

Journal 3: Write a journal entry from Lewis's point of view. Summarize what you learned from each person you met with in Philadelphia, and explain how that knowledge might help you on your expedition.