Creating simulations for social studies classrooms: The Lewis and Clark example

Social Studies Review, Spring 2002 by Vargas, Mary Pat

The book, Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose (1996), ignited my curiosity and I remained captivated by the Corps of Discovery to the end.

The use of simulations was already well established in my school district when I began my assignment as the gifted and talented education teacher. It took only one personal experience for me to understand why they were so popular. Simulations provide opportunities for students to participate actively in reenacting history. Oftentimes they are required to assume the same roles as specific people in history, participate in decision-making that will affect their success on their journey, and complete projects that challenge their skills as researchers.

Of the many explorers who braved the unknown territory west of the Mississippi River, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's encounters are among the most fascinating. When they began their journey into the unknown from Fort Mandan, the Corps of Discovery, as Lewis and Clark called their group of men, consisted of 33 men, one woman, Sacagawea, one slave named York, and a dog called Seaman. Their experiences with Indians, the encumbrance of a new baby, battles with forces of nature, reoccurring sicknesses, lack of food, the general logistics of an exploration of that length, and the multitude of their accomplishments is an extraordinary story, one worthy of sharing with students.

The book, Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose (1996), ignited my curiosity and I remained captivated by the Corps of Discovery to the end. There are countless adventures to savor from the journey, but the success of the expedition is a testament of good fortune, human endurance, cooperation, teamwork, scientific discovery, and political conquest. It is a story that deserves more than a few pages in a social studies textbook.

REASONS FOR CHOOSING LEWIS AND CLARK

I had several reasons for wanting this expedition to serve as the basis for a simulation. The journey of Lewis and Clark was extremely exciting and adventurous and bound to appeal to students. The story of the Corps of Discovery is unique as few adventure novels have so many encounters with bears, waterfalls, mosquitoes, thieves, sandstorms, prickly pears, and diseases. It provides interest for even the most discriminating gifted students. And if they weren't initially enthralled, the multiple tales of the laxative effect of Dr. Rush's thunderbolts will no doubt draw them in. The great variety of adventure lends itself to easy preparation of a differentiated unit.

I knew that most children have heard of Sacagawea, and this background knowledge would give them some measure of confidence as they began to investigate an event in history they otherwise knew little about. Most historians agree that Sacagawea was a remarkable young woman. I delighted in the fact that she was the only woman on the journey and I looked forward to the students discovering this information. I was eager to ask my female students if they would consider a journey into the unknown with 32 unfamiliar foreign men in need of baths. (It turned out that not many would.) The simulation enables students to uncover inaccurate presumptions concerning Sacagawea's contributions to Lewis and Clark's achievements.

There is a multitude of resources available concerning Lewis and Clark's journey, including easily accessible, high quality information on the Internet. It is easy for students to contribute to a class library for the duration of the simulation. Various types of resource materials are essential in order to provide experience with many categories of text at different reading levels. It is important that students further develop their skills as researchers, read historical text for pleasure, succeed at divergent knowledge acquisition, and be able to choose the appropriate source for information gathering. The resources related to Lewis and Clark provides opportunities for all these objectives.

Lewis and Clark traversed a large part of North America on their journey. Sent by President Thomas Jefferson, they were the first to chart the area west of the Mississippi River. Thi s historical event serves as an opportunity to strengthen students' geographical awareness in a purposeful way. The maps used during the simulation were dated 1803. Only 15 states had achieved statehood by that time and students must rely on the use of latitude and longitude for landmarks in research.

PUTTING THE SIMULATION TOGETHER

The success the students and I enjoyed with previous simulations gave me a valuable template to start with. I used past experiences and the statistics from recent student surveys to develop activities, roles, and rules I knew were popular and successful with students.

To begin the simulated journey of Lewis and Clark, students are grouped in corps and assigned roles similar to the ones described in the journals of Lewis and Clark. The role-playing rotates each time the simulation is played so that each child may receive more than one experience in each role.