Louisiana Purchase Hands-on Lesson Plan for Elementary Kids

Jul 26, 2025

Lewis & Clark Lesson for Kids

This is the 16th lesson in a series of 28 hands-on lessons covering American History through 1865. This lesson focuses on President Thomas Jefferson & the Louisiana Purchase. I used this plan while teaching a 45 minute history class for children in Kindergarten, 1st, & 2nd grades. Each lesson includes a biography report, history notebook page, history song, our favorite children’s books, YouTube video, a history joke, & a variety of hands-on activities to make each lesson engaging & memorable. Use these fun lessons with your classroom, homeschool, after-school program, or co-op!

Student Biography Presentation: Sacajawea

Student biography report on Sacajawea

Student biography presentation on Sacajawea

Review & Presidents Song

Review: What is the document that tells the rules for how America’s government will run? (Constitution) What do we call the first part of the Constitution? (Preamble) Let’s sing the Preamble again. [Sing it one last time while flipping through the book that includes pictures.] How many branches are there in our government? (3) Can you name 1? (legislative, executive, judicial) What does the legislative branch do? (makes laws) What does the executive branch do? (executes/enforces/carries out the laws) What does the judicial branch do? (judges the laws) Who was our first president? (George Washington) Who can tell me something about George Washington?

Over the next few months we’re going to learn all the Presidents. We’re only going to learn the first 3 today.

Show the entire video (or flip through a book showing Presidents or point to their pictures on a President placemat) while singing through the song 1 time. [I squeezed in “Biden, and Trump” at the end.]

Sing together the first 3 Presidents using the song below. [Stop after Jefferson.] Repeat 4 times.

You will need:

Screen to show the below video or a book showing Presidents or point to their pictures on a President place mat

Presidents Song

Louisiana Purchase

Read Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President (Step into Reading, Step 3) by Shirley Raye Redmond.

You will need:

Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President (Step into Reading, Step 3) by Shirley Raye Redmond

Walking the Trail Journal

Walking the Louisiana Purchase Trail with journals

Set 1 of pictures for journal

Set 2 of pictures for journal

Pass out a blank journal to each child. Have them bring along the journal & a glue stick as we follow the trail that Lewis & Clark took. At each “station,” I talk a bit about what Lewis & Clark said & did. Then the children each paste a picture into their travel journal.

December 1803 – [Paste the picture of the corn.] Lewis & Clark, sent by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Louisiana Purchase land all the way to the Pacific Ocean, recruit & train their men. You have all been recruited and trained and are now part of the Corps of Discovery. We have to load lots of supplies. Some food we’ll take. Sometimes we’ll trade for food from the Native Americans. [Optional: Have one child carry a bag of snacks and another child carry a canoe oar to pretend you’re in a boat.] —> Walk to next station.

September 1804 – [Paste the picture of prairie dogs.] We saw a new animal: prairie dogs. We tried to capture them by pouring water down their holes. It didn’t work. —> Walk to next station.

October 1804 – [Paste the picture of a Mandan man & of Sacajawea.] We will spend the winter with the Mandan Native Americans in North Dakota. We built a fort called Fort Mandan. Charbonneau and his wife, Sacajawea, join the expedition as interpreters and guides.

December 1804 – [Paste the picture of buffalo/bison.] We had our first buffalo hunt & were able to shoot some for food & clothing.

February 1805 – [No picture – Just say as you’re walking] Sacagawea gives birth to a baby boy, Jean Baptiste. She calls him “Pompy.” [Optional: Put on a baby backpack & carry a baby doll in the backpack.] —> Walk to next station.

April 1805 – [Paste the picture of the grizzly bear.]Lewis and another hunter kill a grizzly bear after it almost kills them. They had to shoot it multiple times before it finally died. [Optional: Have a teddy bear there. Also have a piece of black construction paper cut into a 7-inch bear claw because that’s how long the bear’s claws were.] —> Walk to next station.

August 1805 – [Paste the picture of a Shoshone man.] We meet a group of Shoshone Native Americans. Their chief, Chief Cameahwait, turns out to be Sacagawea’s brother. Sacagawea helps us trade for horses to get us across the mountains. [Optional: Lay down canoe oar & pick up stick horses.] —> Walk to next station.

September 1805 – [Paste the picture of the map of the Bitterroot Mountains.] We have to cross the snowy Bitterroot Mountains. We’ll pretend these chairs are the mountains. We almost run out of food. In order to not starve to death, we have to eat a horse, which we really don’t want to do. [Optional: Pretend to eat one of the stick horses.] —> Walk to next station.

September 1805 – [Paste the picture of a Nez Perce man & salmon.] Thankfully a group of Nez Perce Native Americans give us fresh salmon and new clothes. [Optional: Eat some goldfish crackers as the “salmon”.] —> Walk to next station.

November 1805 – [No picture – Just say as you’re walking – I had this stop be at the bathroom & turned on the water faucet] – We arrived at the Pacific Ocean! After spending the winter at Fort Clatsop we headed back home & arrived in St. Louis, Missouri in September 1806 with out journals to report on all they we did & saw. [Optional: Go outside & draw a picture in the journal of something you see on the other “coast” of the building.]

Walk back to the classroom, including stepping over the “Bitterroot Mountain Chairs”. If desired, also switch out the horses for the canoe oar and pick up a picture of Big White (the Mandan Chief) when passing the Fort Mandan stop as the chief went back with the Corps of Discovery to visit Thomas Jefferson.

If parents or other children are around, ask them to cheer for you all as you return from your journey since the the Corps of Discovery was welcomed with cheers when they returned to St. Louis. Many people had believed they’d died and would never return.

You will need per child:

blank paper notebook (I used plain copy paper, folded them in half, cut them in half, stapled them together, & punched with holes so it can go in the history notebook.)

a picture of each of the above animals, people, & places printed & cut out . The pictures came from these 3 websites:
http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/lewis_clark/prepare.htm , https://www.tinasdynamichomeschoolplus.com/exploring-to-revolution/lewis-and-clark/ , & https://www.sierraclub.org/sites/www.sierraclub.org/files/endangered_species.pdf

student supply: glue stick

Optional props: bag of snacks, canoe oar(s), baby backpack with a baby doll, toy teddy bear & black construction paper bear claw that is 7-inches long, stick horses, goldfish crackers for the children to eat, & a picture of Big White (the Mandan chief who went back with Lewis & Clark to meet President Jefferson)

Optional Props

Baby Carrier and Doll for Sacagawea and Jean Baptiste (Pomp)

Bag of snacks, canoe oars, & “grizzly bear” teddy bear with construction paper 7-inch claws

Shoshone stick horses used to cross the “Bitterroot Mountain” chairs

Goldfish cracker “salmon” snack

Return trip by boat (using oars) with a photo of the Mandan chief that joined them

Snack & Review

Beef Jerky Snack

Pass out a snack of beef jerky, which is an item that Lewis & Clark brought on their journey. It’s also a snack my kids love to bring when we travel.

You will need:

beef jerky

Today we learned about a famous trip. Ask the children if they have ever gone on a trip. Ask why they went on a trip. Ask what they normally pack when they are going to go on a trip.

Read Luke 9:1-6. In this passage Jesus is sending out His 12 disciples. What is He sending them out to do? What does He tell them to bring? Why do you think Jesus told them to not bring anything?

Today we learned about Lewis and Clark. They were not sent out by Jesus. They were sent out by the President of the United States at the time, Thomas Jefferson. Unlike what Jesus’ disciples did, Lewis and Clark did pack many items with them on their journey and they also brought back some interesting items. Who can name something the brought back?

Review: What is something you learned about Lewis or Clark today? Who was the President of the United States at the time who purchased the Louisiana Territory? (Thomas Jefferson) What year did they buy it? (1803) What animals did Lewis and Clark find as they explored this new area? (prairie dogs, grizzly bears, bison) Who was the Native American woman guide and translator who went with them? (Sacajawea)

Assign next week’s student biography presentation on Dolley Madison.

A Book to Read Each Day

Seaman's Journal: On the Trail With Lewis and Clark by Patti Reeder Eubank - Book Images are from amazon .com. Worst of Friends: Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and the True Story of an American Feud by Suzanne Tripp Jurmain How We Crossed The West: The Adventures Of Lewis And Clark by Rosalyn Schanzer Thomas Jefferson's Feast (Step into Reading: Level 4) by Frank Murphy Thomas Jefferson: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Everything by Maira Kalman The Value of Foresight: The Story of Thomas Jefferson (Valuetales Series) by Ann Donegan Johnson Women Who Broke the Rules: Sacajawea by Kathleen Krull