The Teacher Page:
Introduction:
Sacagawea
Sacagawea was born in the year of 1788. Sacagawea was the 15 year old Shoshone Indian who assisted the Lewis and Clark expedition around 1804-1806. She, along with her husband, were their guides from the Great Plains to the Pacific Ocean and then back. At around the age of 12 she was captured by kidnapped by the Hidatsa tribe, which was an enemy tribe and was sold into slavery. Later on she was sold to a French-Canadian fur trader named Toussaint Charbonneau who then married Sacagawea and they then had a son whom they named Jean-Baptiste. Sacagawea was their interpreter and negotiator with the Shoshone tribe and helped Lewis and Clark obtain supplies and horses from the tribe, which was being led by Sacagawea's brother Cameahwait. It is believed that without the help of Sacagawea, the expedition would have been impossible to complete. She went on the expedition with Lewis and Clark with her infant son on her back.
Sacagawea became a very important part of the expedition. Her knowledge of native plants and herbs often helped to feed the people and also knew which plants and roots were good for medicine. When encountering tribes along the way, Sacagawea prevented many battles because the tribes would see that there was an Indian woman with them. That was a clear sign of a non-threatening group. Especially that the woman was carrying a child with her. In November 1805, when the expedition reached where the Columbia River met the Pacific Ocean, Lewis and Clark held a vote to decide where to settle for the winter. The expedition voted to stay near what is now Astoria, Oregon. They counted Sacagawea's vote as well. She was counted as equally as the men in the group. The corps then built Fort Clatsop and then settled there for the winter. On the trip back Sacagawea was even more important to their expedition because she knew the areas that they were traveling through and was able to guide the expedition safely back. Sacagawea received no payment for her service but her husband did. He received cash and land for their help on the expedition.
Six years after the expedition, Sacagawea gave birth to a daughter, Lisette. That winter Sacagawea died from what was believed to be an ailment she had her entire adult life, but was aggravated by giving birth to her second child, at the age of 22. Eight months later Clark legally adopted her 2 children. Clark educated Jean-Baptiste. Shortly after his 18th birthday her son was then sent to Europe. There are no records of her daughter and it's unclear if she even survived past infancy. There is a lot of legends and lore behind the story of Sacagawea. There are no drawings, pictures or descriptions of her, so her appearance is very unclear. Nobody knows what she really looked like. There are other legends associated with her story. There are monuments and statues dedicated to her and now there is even a one dollar gold coin made in her honor. Her grave is located in Lander, Wyoming.
Learners:
The learners for this project is grades 3-5th grade.
Assignment:
In this WebQuest, the students through grades 3-5 will research and then present their own diary entry of life as Sacagawea. They will use the internet to find information on this woman of history while writing what they would have done if they were in her shoes. The students would not only become more educated on this topic but also enjoy what they write about. Mainly because it's all about them and their actions!
Teachers Process:
Day 1: For the first day you as a teacher will need to assist your students to a library or computer lab to search up some research. They would need to search up research about Sacagawea and about her life. They would need to only pick one scene in her life to write about in their diary entry.
Day 2: For day 2 students should receive at least 45 minutes of class time to start their first draft. But if they didn't complete their research there is a possibility for those students to work on classroom computers or if it's about the whole class take them to the computer lab or library to finish their last day of research.
Day 3: Today students must sit down with a buddy and swap papers. They must each peer- check and edit each other if there are mistakes. Also then assign for homework to write their second draft.
Day 4: Today students must pair up with a different buddy and peer-check one anothers for mistakes. Also for homework students must type or write their final draft. This is the draft they will present to the class and turn in to you.
Day 5: Presentation day! All students must present their diary entries to the class by reading theirs to them. You as a teacher will grade them on their presentation and also on how well the paper was written. Then they will turn it in to you and then they will wait for their grade after you are finished grading it.
Teachers Reasources:
About Sacagawea:
http://www.essortment.com/all/biographysacaga_rcqc.htm
http://www.biography.com/articles/Sacagawea-9468731
http://www.mathcs.bethel.edu/~gossett/DiscreteMathWithProof/sacajawea/sacajawea.html
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Sacajawea.aspx
http://www.elcivics.com/sacajawea.html
How to grade a presentation:
http://www.ece.mtu.edu/labs/presentation_grade_sheet.htm
Fun for students and teachers:
http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Sacagawea-71889.html
Credits:
http://www.essortment.com/all/biographysacaga_rcqc.htm
http://www.biography.com/articles/Sacagawea-9468731
