Presidential Mission

This worksheet is designed for students in Grades 4 and 5 to strengthen primary-source analysis, close reading, and historical understanding through excerpts from President Thomas Jefferson’s letter to Meriwether Lewis. By identifying explicit mission goals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, learners practice extracting main ideas, recognizing purpose, and connecting leadership vision to national expansion.

Learning Goals

• Analyzing Primary Sources (Grades 4-5) – Read and interpret excerpts from a historical document.
• Identifying Main Ideas & Key Details – Locate and underline specific expedition goals such as mapping routes, studying wildlife, and building relationships with Native nations.
• Understanding Purpose & Motivation – Explain why Jefferson supported the expedition and what the United States hoped to gain.
• Historical Reasoning – Connect written goals to broader themes of exploration, leadership, and westward expansion.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource – Designed by educators to align with upper-elementary ELA and social studies standards.
• Authentic Historical Text – Introduces students to real language from early U.S. leadership.
• Guided Close Reading – Structured prompts help students navigate challenging primary-source material.
• Critical Thinking Focus – Encourages discussion of intent, priorities, and national growth.
• Flexible Use – Ideal for social studies units, document-based lessons, guided reading, or independent work.
• Low-Prep Design – Easy to print and implement in classroom or homeschool settings.

This printable worksheet helps students move beyond textbook summaries to engage directly with historical evidence. By analyzing Jefferson’s own words, learners strengthen reading comprehension, historical insight, and understanding of how leadership goals shaped the Lewis and Clark Expedition and early American expansion.

This worksheet is part of our Lewis and Clark Expedition collection.