The story of Sacagawea's son Pomp

Updated: September 15, 2008
Lesson plan

This lesson is a great supplement to any study of the explorers Lewis and Clark. Students will read about Pomp, the infant son of Sacagawea, who also took part in their famous expedition. Students will work in teams to summarize one chapter in Pomp's life and present that summary in a PowerPoint to the rest of the class.

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Lesson plan informationLesson plan information
Teacher guideTeacher guide
Lesson procedureLesson procedure
Materials neededMaterials needed
Lesson extension activitiesLesson extension activities

Lesson plan information

Lesson plan
ItemRequirements

School level

Grades 7-8

Curriculum areas

Social studies

Class time

2 hours, approx.

Software required

Microsoft Internet Explorer

Microsoft Office PowerPoint

Materials needed

Student directions (Web access)

The story of Pomp (Web access)

Lewis and Clark timeline (Web access)

Teacher guide

Goals

Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information about Pomp’s life from a variety of sources.

Students learn about the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Students learn about the American dollar coin containing an insignia of Pomp and Sacagawea.

Objectives

Students work in teams to read and summarize one chapter in Pomp’s life.

Students present their research to the class in an Office PowerPoint.

Lesson procedure

Introduction

How do babies travel today? In the United States, most parents transport their babies in car seats, strollers, or backpacks.

Imagine bringing a baby across the country by carrying the baby on your back as you walk from place to place. What would be hard about that?

[Pass around a Sacagawea dollar or show a picture of the coin to the class.] The baby on this coin is named Pomp, which means “First Born” in the Shoshone language. This coin illustrates how Pomp started his life on a very famous journey with his mother, Sacajawea. Sacajawea, a Native American from the Shoshone tribe, served as a guide for the explorers Lewis and Clark on their famous expedition to find the Pacific Ocean.

In this activity you are going to learn about the story of Pomp and his participation in the famous Lewis and Clark expedition to explore this country. I am going to divide you into six groups. Each group will read and summarize one chapter of an online story about Pomp. The first five chapters tell the story of Pomp's life, while the last chapter explains the story of the Sacagawea dollar. Each group will create an Office PowerPoint presentation to present to the class what you have learned. By viewing all the group presentations as a class, we’ll learn the whole story of Pomp’s life and the Lewis and Clark expedition.

Main activity

Step 1: Research

Software: Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Office PowerPoint

What to do

Research the story of Pomp, and create a PowerPoint presentation to show what you have learned

1.

Open Internet Explorer to open the story of Pomp site.

2.

Read your team's assigned chapter. Take notes on the important events in that chapter. Try to find 8-10 important facts, and then summarize the events in your own words. You may also want to look at the Lewis and Clark timeline to find more information about where Pomp went and what important events he was present for.

3.

Create a story board to help organize your notes for your presentation.

4.

Create a PowerPoint presentation from your notes. You will use the presentation to share what you have learned with the class. Place each fact on a different slide. Make sure you have at least 8-10 facts and that you have presented them accurately and clearly.

5.

Plan how you will show your PowerPoint presentation to the class. Who will speak? Who will present each slide? Who will answer questions?

Conclusion

Assess your students on:

The thoroughness and accuracy of their summary of the chapter assigned to them. Each group should find 8-10 important facts from their chapter.

How they presented their facts to the class using their Office PowerPoint presentation.

Materials needed

Template Student directions (24 KB Microsoft Word file)

The story of Pomp

Lewis and Clark timeline

Lesson extension activities

Have your students design drawings for a coin that would commemorate the life of Pomp.

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