Hands-On Lewis and Clark Unit Study
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We recently received Heroes of History – Meriwether Lewis, part of the Heroes of History set, by YWAM Publishing to review. This set is a phenomenal history resource. These historical biographies and study guides can be used independently as a Lewis and Clark unit study or combined to make a full history curriculum.
I used the book and the study guide to teach a hands-on Lewis and Clark unit study. To create a year-long curriculum, I recommend choosing one book to study each month.
History is one of my favorite subjects to teach. I love being able to find fantastic resources to make history come alive. History does not need to be boring!
Our Hands-On Lewis and Clark Unit Study
Our Lewis and Clark unit study consisted of two parts – the book and curriculum guide. Both pieces were necessary to create an enjoyable and thorough unit study that was easy to plan.
Heroes of History – Meriwether Lewis by Janet and Geoff Benge
Last update on 2026-10-21 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
We read one chapter of Heroes of History – Meriwether Lewis each day. This pace took us about a month to finish the book and selected activities. The story is the perfect combination of historically correct and engaging. We looked forward to our daily reading time during our Lewis and Clark unit study.
The story begins when Meriwether Lewis is a young boy. He lived in Albemarle, Virginia as a child. This fact piqued Hannah and Ben’s interest right away because we lived in Virginia until about two years ago.
The book follows Meriwether as he grows up, but the real focus of the story is his involvement in the Corps of Discovery. He was always up for an adventure and the journey westward was no exception. This book contained so many details that I didn’t know. It was the details that kept us hooked on the story. Hannah and Ben found his encounters with grizzly bears especially interesting.
Heroes of History – Meriwether Lewis can certainly be read alone, but I highly recommend using the curriculum guide to create a deeper understanding of Lewis and of the expedition west. The Heroes of History books are available as audiobooks if you find it hard to find time to read. Historical audiobooks are perfect for days spent in the car!
Meriwether Lewis Unit Study Curriculum Guide
The curriculum guide contains:
Key Quotes
Six quotes are included as conversation starters. My favorite quote in this book is, “Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.” – Victor Hugo. Doesn’t that just sum up the Lewis and Clark journey perfectly? Without their perseverance our country might look very different.
Display Corner
I LOVED putting together a Meriwether Lewis display table for my kids. The idea is that you create an area with objects related to the Lewis and Clark expedition. I found a few items around our house that related to our Lewis and Clark unit study and bought a few more at the Fort Clatsop visitor center. Our display corner included:
- Northwest Coast Indians Coloring Book
- Quill pen and ink
- Lewis and Clark post cards
- Rock Science kit
- Poster of Cape Disappointment
Ben found a compass in his room and added it to the collection.
This section added so much hands on learning to our unit study. Hannah and Ben both realized that Lewis must have spent quite a long time taking notes because he had to use a quill pen. They tried their hand at using this writing instrument and found it was much harder than they expected.
Chapter Questions
Each chapter includes four questions from the reading. Some of the questions make sure the children understand the vocabulary terms. Other questions check comprehension and others ask students to think critically about what they have read. What can we infer from the reading? Would we have done the same thing?
The answers are found in the back of the study guide. I read the book with my children, so I didn’t need an answer key. It would come in very handy though, if your high school student read the book on their own.
Student Explorations
This section provides a variety of activity suggestions to further learning. In true unit study fashion, these activities overlap with other subject areas. Depending on the age of your student and the time available, you could choose to do just one of the activities or multiple from each section. The activities include essay questions, creative writing prompts, hands on projects, audio-visual projects, and arts and crafts.
Community Links
Community links are opportunities to learn more about the unit through experts in your community. Suggested community links for the Lewis and Clark unit study include lecturers from local colleges, Native American community speakers or events, conservationists, and touring parts of the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.
We chose to take advantage of living in the Pacific Northwest and go on a Lewis and Clark field trip. Touring Fort Clatsop was wonderful. It was amazing to think that we were walking where Meriwether Lewis walked and relaxing near the stream where Sacagawea gathered water. If you can add a field trip to your unit study, I highly recommend that you go.
Social Studies
This section includes assignments to deepen a students understanding of the Lewis and Clark journey from a social studies point of view. You can map the journey, define vocabulary terms, and create a timeline of Meriwether’s life.
Related Themes to Explore
Unit studies naturally incorporate other subjects. This section provides examples of ways to include math, science, and current events into your hands-on Lewis and Clark unit study.
Lewis and Clark Unit Study Culminating Event
I told my kids about this portion of the unit early on and they were very excited. The culminating event is an activity that wraps up the unit.
We made United States cookies and marked the trail with frosting for our culminating event. This lead to a great discussion about the accuracy of our US cookie cutter.
Sure, it looks fairly accurate for today’s map, but the country was extremely different back then.
To make the cookies we first made basic sugar cookie dough. Then, we used our cookie cutter to cut out United States cookies. We had a few grizzly bear and buffalo cutters so we used those too. After all, Lewis did see plenty of these animals for the first time while on this journey.
We baked the cookies following the recipe directions. Once they were cool we were ready to start frosting. The inside cover of Heroes of History – Meriwether Lewis contains a map with the trail marked. I printed off blank maps from the curriculum guide pdf and we notated the different countries that owned land in present day America.
Books and Resources
This section gives you a list of books, documentaries, articles, and websites to check out. I really appreciated this section because I was able to just enter the titles into my library website and reserve everything I needed. It saved me a lot of time because I didn’t need to search for titles to go with our unit study.
Lewis and Clark Unit Study Final Thoughts
We really enjoyed this book and study guide. The book held our interest and the suggested activities really added to the lessons. I like that these books and activities can accommodate a variety of learning styles and ages. Early elementary students can listen to the story and complete simple hands-on activities. High school students can read the story independently and work through the more in-depth essay questions. There is something for everyone.
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