Lewis & Clark Expedition (1804-1806) – A Jackdaw Portfolio

Bringing history to life in a homeschool setting often requires moving beyond the textbook, and the Lewis & Clark Expedition Jackdaw Portfolio is one of those rare “museum-in-a-box” resources that does exactly that.

Unlike a standard history book, a Jackdaw Portfolio is a collection of facsimiles of primary sources. When you open it, you aren’t just reading about the Corps of Discovery; you are holding what they held. It includes:

Authentic Map Reproductions: See the “blank spaces” on the maps they were trying to fill.
Journal Entries & Letters: Read the actual words written by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (with transcripts provided, so you don’t have to struggle with 19th-century cursive!).
Detailed Broadsheets: These are bite-sized, illustrated essays that cover specific topics like the expedition’s encounters with the Shoshone or the incredible wildlife they documented.
How to Use It in Your School Day
- The “Discovery” Jar: Place a different document from the portfolio on the table each morning for a week and let your kids examine it during breakfast.
- Map Work: Compare their 1804 maps to a modern-day map of the United States. It’s a fantastic way to visualize how much the “known world” changed because of this two-year journey.
- Living History: Have your student write their own “journal entry” after reading Clark’s descriptions of the Rocky Mountains.