Curated OER
History Detectives
Fifth graders investigate the significant events in America's history. Students listen to a variety of books based on significant historical events in America. Students divide into 6 groups, each of which is responsible for researching...
California Academy of Science
A Day in the Life of a San Francisco Native Animal
Before Google, before Sillicon Valley, before the Gold Rush, the San Francisco landscape was a biome filled with grizzly bears, mule deer, tule elk, coyotes, gray fox, gophers, and moles. To explore the early days of yesteryear, kids...
Curated OER
Go West Young Man#148
Students determine the difference between immigration and emigration. They read and listen to books about emigration westward during the Gold Rush years. They examine life in Gold Rush towns while determining why gold is so valuable....
Curated OER
Decision-Making Scenerios
Eleventh graders review what they have gathered on the Gold Rush and how the Native Americans lived in the Plains. Using a worksheet, they choose one scenerio they would have liked to be a part of and write their opionions about it...
DocsTeach
Reasons for Westward Expansion
"Go West, young man!" is a familiar refrain in American history. But why did people leave their homes in the East to travel westward and what impact did that movement have on people already living in the American West? By examining...
Curated OER
San Francisco Explodes
Students investigate why San Francisco grew so quickly during the Gold Rush. They
Curated OER
"Go West, Young Man!"
Students examine reasons why people migrated west. They describe how the geography of the U.S. changed in the 19 th century and design a PowerPoint presentation to convey factors for westward expansion.
Curated OER
Values and Beliefs of Manifest Destiny
Fourth graders examine the beliefs of Manifest Destiny and its role in the California Gold Rush. They analyze a painting to gather information about Manifest Destiny.
Curated OER
Debate: Whose Land Is It?
Students identify the main factors involved in determining who was able to claim the land of California as their own. They determine the factors of unjustness in the Gold Rush times. Students reflect on what they learned from the debate...
Curated OER
A Biblical Perspective
Young scholars analyze money using a Biblical and business perspective. In this algebra lesson, students define their money relationship biblically and in a business fashion. They compare their view with the view of someone in the Gold...
Curated OER
Opportunity and Discrimination, A Dream of Gold
Students focus on what it means to be a citizen of the United States and why the Chinese Exclusion Act is important when considering the concept of racism.
Curated OER
BEGINNER LEVEL LESSON PLAN
Students are be able to analyze primary sources (photographs) for evidence of Native American culture and construct a cultural symbol. They are explained what the stars and stripes stand for on the American flag. Students work as...
Curated OER
Intermediate Level Lesson Plan THEMATIC ESSAY
Students identify three reasons why conflict arose in the Western United States during the late 1800s. Using specific examples, discuss how the United States government attempted to resolve these conflicts. Evaluate whether these...
Curated OER
Geography: Why Is the Sacremento Valley a Good Place to Grow Rice?
Third graders locate the Sacramento Valley in California where rice is grown. In this rice growing location lesson, 3rd graders locate the Sacremento Valley, California on a map, and color the mountain ranges and terrain that is around...
Curated OER
Savvy in Sacramento
Young scholars take a field trip to the state capital, Sacramento. Using the Internet, they explain the physical and human geographic features of the area and discuss interactions between the people of California between the time of...
Curated OER
Links to the Past
Learners use documents from California As I Saw It: First Person Narratives, 1849-1900 , in American Memory to create a script depicting the motivations, expectations, fears, and realizations of immigrants who settled California between...
Curated OER
Oh My Darling
Students discuss human interaction with the environment and sing "Clementine" with historical fiction lyrics. They create a map or model of a mining camp in which Clementine may have lived. They discuss what might happen to their...
Curated OER
Pushing the Boundaries: The Pioneer Spirit
Eleventh graders recognize how social reform occurred at the turn of the century. Through a debate, 11th graders determine advantages and drawbacks of traveling west using original sources and descriptions of the attitudes, beliefs, and...
Curated OER
Washoe Indians: Dat-so-la-lee
Students study the life and crafts of Washoe Indian, Dat-so-la-lee. In this Washoe Indians instructional activity, students read and study the life of Washoe Indian basket weaver Dat-so-la-lee. Students study images of her crafts and...
Curated OER
This Great Enterprise”: Theodore Roosevelt and the Panama Canal
Learners explore the implications of the "Great Enterprise." In this Panama Canal instructional activity, students listen to their instructor present a lecture regarding President Teddy Roosevelt and Panama Canal. Learners...
Curated OER
Lesson 6: Native Americans in the West
Young scholars recall their knowledge of Native American people who lived in the West and reflect on how their perspectives differed from pioneers and argonauts of the 19th century.
Curated OER
San Francisco, Ahoy!
Fifth graders analyze paintings that share a common theme of San Francisco as seen by some of the first travelers who arrived there. In this art history lesson plan, 5th graders consider the experiences involved with the arrival to a new...
Curated OER
Call of The Wild
Prompt your class to interact with Jack London's Call of the Wild. By analyzing the events in the novel, middle schoolers discover how human experiences create who a person becomes. They critique and analyze the reading, focusing on...
Curated OER
Westward Expansion
Eighth graders explore the components of the Westward Movement in the United States. Understanding the past and the linkages it has to the present is the intended goal of this seventeen day unit.