Introduction
        Guess what? Lewis and Clark were not alone when they explored the Louisiana Purchase and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time! The Corps of Discovery was led by captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, but there were 31 other people who made the journey to the edge of the Pacific Ocean. Most of the people who went on the journey were part of the government's military, but there were a few who were not military members. Most of the public is unfamiliar with the military and non-military members who accompanied Lewis and Clark.

Now it's your turn to be a teacher, historian...and a reporter! Our class has been nominated by Online News Organization ONO, to report on those often forgotten members of the Corps of Discovery.

Good luck reporters!  

Each group gets to create a news article, a radio newscast, or both! Your group’s article or radio newscast will include some background information about your Corps member and an exclusive interview with them.

Huh, interview them??? But…aren’t they dead??? Yes, you’re right. But what if they were alive today? Think about how that person would answer questions about their life and experiences on the expedition. We’ll talk about the interview more in the task section.

How are you going to make a news article and/or a radio newscast??? We’ll also talk about radio newscasts and news articles in the Task section.

            When we are all finished creating our reports they will be displayed on ONO’s website, and you can show your family, fiends, and even your cat!

Step 1: Decide, as a group, which Corps member most interests you. Are they a military member or civilian? What was their purpose for coming on the expedition? Were they forced to go on the expedition or did they get to choose?

        Step 2: Get to know your Corps member using these handy websites:

http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/idx_corp.html
http://www.nps.gov/archive/jeff/LewisClark2/CorpsOfDiscovery/TheOthers/Others.htm
http://www.lewisandclarktrail.com/corps.htm
http://lewisandclarkjournals.unl.edu/index.html

You may choose to split up, letting each group member search one website, and then come back together and tell your group what you have learned about your person. Make sure to write down important information and SAVE important websites and documents. You may want to use it in your newspaper article or radio newscast.

Step 3: Once you have researched your Corps member it’s time to decide how you want to present the information to ONO. Do you want to write a news article describing what they did before, during, and after exploring the Louisiana Purchase, or would you rather get your radio voice ready and record your news story? You could also make a news article to go along with a radio newscast. Decide in your group. 

Step 4: Whether you are making a newspaper article, a radio newscast, or both there are some things you should include.

Answer these questions to fill us in on your Corps member’s background:

·        How and why did they become involved with the Corps?

·        Did they volunteer to join the Corps or were they forced to come?

·        What did they do before they became part of the Corps?

·        What was their job during the journey? Where they responsible for something? Were they the first to do something? What was their experience like on the expedition?

·        Name at least one thing we should remember about this person. What was the biggest accomplishment they were responsible for?

·        Include any other information you think is important about the person. Maybe mention a funny story or other fun facts!

Step 5: That should cover the background information. Now it’s time for             interviewing… Yes, ONO knows that your Corps member is no longer alive, but they are giving you a chance to be creative. Based on your research, especially after reading their journal entries, how do you think they would answer certain questions about their experience exploring the Louisiana Purchase? Think about these questions:

·        What was your job during the expedition?

·        What was your favorite part of the journey?

·        How did you feel during the expedition? Was there ever a time when you felt scared, sad, excited, or any other emotions? Why did you feel this way?

·        What was your opinion of other Corps members? Did you get along with Lewis, Clark, and others?

·        After the journey, what did you do?

·        What is one thing you want to be remembered for?

 Step 6: Create a rough draft of your news article or radio newscast. Even if your group is choosing to make a radio newscast you can make a rough draft script. A script is a written plan of who will be speaking and what they will be talking about in the radio newscast.           
        Step 7: Have another person proof read your draft. Use our usual revision and editing procedures.

 Step 8: Save all of your documents and images to a group member’s student folder.

Step 9: When your group feels that they have completed a finalized draft of your magazine article and/or interview inform your teacher, and they will save the document to a disc or jump drive. If your group is creating a radio newscast begin recording with a microphone provided by the teacher.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Radio Newscast Organization	Our radio newscast was hard to understand. It was also choppy. It didn't have an clear beginning, middle, or end.	Our radio newscast was a little hard to understand. It felt a little choppy in some areas.	Our radio newscast was  organized and easy to understand. We were very close to sounding like a radio newscast.	Our radio newscast was well organized. It was easy to understand and sounded like an actual radio newscast.
News Article Organization	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting a beginning level of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting development and movement toward mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting mastery of performance.	Description of identifiable performance characteristics reflecting the highest level of performance.
The Corps Member Background Information Content	We only answered a couple of questions listed in Step 4.	We answered some of the questions listed in Step 4, but most of them were not answered.	We answered all of the questions in Step 4, but we could have added more supporting details.	We answered all of the questions in Step 4, and we included good supporting details.
The Corps Member Interview Content.	Our interview  only included a couple of answers to questions listed in Step 5.	Our interview included some of the questions listed in Step 5, but not all of them were answered.	Our interview answered all of the questions listed in Step 5, but we could have added more supporting details.	Our interview answered all of the questions listed in Step 5, and we included good supporting details.
Team Work and Participation	I did not help my group to the best of my abilities.	I helped my group a little, but I could have participated more.	I was a member of my team and helped us create a great final product.	I worked as a team member and  feel that I went above and beyond while working with my team.

List any books and other analog media that you used as information sources as well.

Image borrowed from http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/archive/maps/map2_b.html