Join us as we start our westward expansion for kids American history unit as we learn about Lewis and Clark for kids. In this lesson you will find free printable animal tracks activity, lewis and Clark worksheets, DIY Moccasin activity, and so much more! So saddle up and join us as we journey back in time to 1783.
Westward Expansion Unit:
- Westward Expansion #1
- Westward Expansion #2
- Westward Expansion #3
- FREE Wild West MEGA Pack (70 pages for kids 2-8 years old)
- Oregon Train Skip Counting File Folder Game
- Westward Themed Sensory Bin
- Geography is Fun with a Salt Dough Map
Lewis and Clark for Kids
Next up in our study of American history for kids we are learning about the Westward Expansion. We are taking a 3 week birds eye view of 1783 to 1898 (ending when Hawaii joined the United States). Our unit is filled with great books, activities, drawing & writing our own book, and of course a free printable.
Lewis and Clark Books for Kids:
We read these great books to learn about Lewis & Clark and Sacagawea. As Lewis & Clark were keeping journals to learn about and report back to President Thomas Jefferson about what they saw we read several books on being nature detectives.
Salt Dough Map – History Project
We made a Salt Dough Map we will be painting next week & marking the Oregon Trail route.
Lewis and Clark Nature Study
We talked about how our nature study journals were very much like what Lewis & Clark would have kept. Although we have much better resources now!
We matched these native American animals with their tracks. (This fun activity is just one of the free Westward Expansion Worksheets included in the FREE printable download at the bottom of the post)
DIY Moccasins Craft
This DIY Moccasins craft is super fun to make and not super difficult either. This had to be one of our favorite activities we’ve done so far. Lewis & Clark wore out their boots pretty quickly into their long trip west as they explored the recently purchased Louisiana Territory. So they traded some local Native Americans they met on their journey and these moccasins lasted them the rest of the trip.
Here are the finished pair of moccasins. Not only are they super cute and a fun way to remember our Lewis & Clark expedition, but they are also SUPER soft & comfortable too!
More FUN Educational Activities for Kids
Free Westward Expansion Worksheets
These FREE Westward Expansion printable will touch on the major points from this unit. It includes 10 sheets on different areas of the unit in both Pre/K and 1st+ lined paper –
- US Elevation Map
- Oregon Trail Map
- and Animal Track cards.
We are making our own illustrations using Draw Write Now #5 and writing what we learned under the image. Most of our activities came from Westward Ho! An Activity Guide to the Wild West.
Download Westward Expansion Worksheets
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