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Creating a Class Map

From hieroglyphics on rawhide and bark to Global Positioning Systems, humans have always been fascinated with where they are, where they came from, and how to get back to a specific location, whether it be a hunting ground or a land claim. In 1609, Captain John Smith was the first Englishman to explore and document the Chesapeake Bay region. He surveyed the coastline and took detailed notes regarding the waterways, geographic features, Native Americans, and natural resources he encountered. When he wasn't able to explore to explore on his own, he relied on the information given to him by the Indians:

"As far as you see the little Crosses on riuers, mountaines, or other places, haue been discovered; the rest was had by information of the Savages, and are set downe according to their instructions."1
Smith's map eventually went through twelve states, or versions, and its detail and accuracy far surpassed any other portrayal of North America at the time it was published.

It was not uncommon for eighteenth-century cartographers to create maps showing the world not as it actually was, but as they, or their clients, wished it to be seen. However, when Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory and sent Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery to explore it, he wrote letters instructing the members of the expedition to collect detailed geographic data; information on the lives and cultures of the native peoples; and particulars regarding soil, vegetation, animals, mineral and fossil deposits, and climate. Jefferson wanted the most objective information that he could possibly get about the new territory. Careful record keeping was crucial.

"Beginning at the mouth of the Missouri, you will take [careful] observations of latitude [and] longitude, at all remarkeable points on the river, & especially at the mouths of rivers, at rapids, at islands, & other places & objects distinguished by such natural marks & characters of a durable kind, as that they may with certainty be recognised hereafter. The courses of the river between these points of observation may be supplied by the compass the log-line & by time, corrected by the observations themselves. The variations of the compass too, in different places, should be noted.

The interesting points of the portage between the heads of the Missouri, & of the water offering the best communication with the Pacific ocean, should also be fixed by observation, & the course of that water to the ocean, in the same manner as that of the Missouri.

Your observations are to be taken with great pains & accuracy, to lie entered distinctly & intelligibly for others as well as yourself to comprehend all the elements necessary, with the aid of the usual tables, to fix the latitude and logitude of the places at which they were taken . . . "

–Thomas Jefferson, Instructions to Meriwether Lewis, 20 June 18032

STRATEGY:

  • Make a transparency of Thomas Jefferson's instructions to Lewis and Clark. You may also wish to show students a map from the journals of Lewis and Clark. See below for links to maps.

  • Lead a class discussion about the importance and purpose of maps. List types of maps. Examples may include: topographical maps, political maps, population maps, elevation maps, road maps, climate maps, floor plans, "You are here" maps found in malls and tourist attractions, etc.

  • Read the Jefferson quote and discuss the various elements of his instructions to Lewis and Clark. Focus on the final paragraph " . . . with great pains & accuracy . . . distinctly & intelligibly for others as well as yourself to comprehend . . ." Why would these instructions be important? What was the benefit of having such detailed notes and maps? How do you think the observations made by Lewis and Clark influenced future maps and the expansion of the United States?

  • Section off an area of the school (e.g., the playground) for surveying. Following Jefferson's instructions, have students work in pairs to record observations and create illustrations for each section.

  • When all sections have been drawn and described, put the pages together to create a complete map of the area.

  • Discuss how personal biases may have influenced each of the students' observations. Talk about how, in the eighteenth century, surveyors' and cartographers' own perceptions influenced their maps. Discuss how GPS has made maps more accurate and objective.

  • If time permits, have students create a cartouche to be added to the class map. (See the Image of the Month for more information.)

* * * * * * *

 Links to maps:

http://www.lewis-clark.org/media/newimages/lemhicounty/map_atlas-67a.jpg

http://www.lewis-clark.org/media/newimages/lemhicounty/map_atlas-67a.jpg

http://www.lewis-clark.org/media/newimages/lemhicounty/map_atlas-67a.jpg

1Pritchard, Margaret Beck and Henry G. Taliaferro. Degrees of Latitude: Mapping Colonial America (Williamsburg, Va., 2002), 70.
2http://www.lewis-clark.org/mapterrincog/nav_mti1.htm



This lesson was written by Lori Clock, elementary school teacher, La Mirada, CA.