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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

California's Golden History: 1848-1880

For Teachers 11th
Using a variety of online resources, learners study life and society in California during the gold rush. They use a map to identify area where gold was located, explore pre-selected websites, describe mining practices, and create an...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush California and its Diverse Population

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students compare contemporary cultural differences with historical differences based on population percentage. In this cross-curriculum Gold Rush/math lesson plan, students analyze aspects of California's Gold Rush population and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Times and Life During the California Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders read about the era in their history books, write in their journals revolving around the Gold Rush, making crafts such as newspapers, and also play the part of the Forty-niners.
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

The Gold Rush and San Francisco

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The California Gold Rush rewrote the history of the American West, but especially that of San Francisco. After analyzing images of the city and primary sources, such as a diary entry, scholars discuss these changes. Scaffolded questions...
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Lesson Plan
Eastconn

Women of the California Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
The California Gold Rush was not just an opportunity for the male gold miners sifting for shiny nuggets. Small groups read accounts of the ways women took advantage of the influx of workers to run hotels, bake pies, and wading out into...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Splendide Californie French Artists’ Impressionsof the Golden State, 1786-1900

For Teachers 6th - 8th
There is a lot to learn from art. This teacher's guide provides you with extensive background information, activities, and a scripted commentary to accompany a slide show on French artists in California during the Gold Rush Period. The...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Census and Gold Rush Town

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Young scholars analyze data and form a mental picture of the make up of a gold rush town. They explain social life in a gold rush town. They use online sources to see paintings of camp life and read accounts of miners' lives.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gold Rush Experience: Create Your Own Exhibit

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students create a virtual exhibit. In this gold rush lesson plan, students watch a movie about the California gold rush, view a virtual image of the gold nugget that started the gold rush and examine the sources. Students research and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Movement and Migration: the Gold Nugget that launched the Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Learners learn what it was like to be a gold miner. In this California gold rush lesson, students watch a movie about the California gold rush and discuss what they learned. Learners use the Internet to examine the gold nugget that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Traveling to the Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research the experiences the people who traveled to California during the Gold Rush by land and sea. They create a map showing the various routes that individuals took to get to California. Students explain the...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boom Town/Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students discover the history of California by researching the Gold Rush.  In this economics history lesson, students participate in a class discussion about the book Boom Town, and the value of gold in California.  Students participate...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Baker's Gold

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars examine art of the California Gold Rush. In this visual arts instructional activity, students analyze the photography and art of Isaac Wallace Baker. Young scholars also conduct further research about the miners of the era...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Metaphorical Gold: Mining the Gold Rush for Stories

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars complete a history and research lesson plan about the Gold Rush using selections from Jack London. In this Gold rush research lesson plan, students research the Klondike/Alaska Gold Rush and use details from the history in...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students identify the routes involved in the Gold Rush on a map. In this map skills lesson, students use a United States map to locate the routes used to travel to California during the Gold Rush. Students demonstrate how to use the map...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching with Objects The Gold Nugget

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders complete activities related to the California gold rush. In this gold rush lesson, 4th graders go to an Internet website video that discusses the gold rush. They complete discuss miner's experiences, sing a gold rush song,...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

"All We Want Is an Equal Chance, an Open Field, and a Fair Fight"

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students investigate the California Gold Rush. In this California history lesson, students analyze images, letters, and documents from the era to discover information about the events and social conditions spurred by the Gold Rush....
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baltimoreans in the California Gold Rush

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders explore the reasons for migration to California during the Gold Rush.  In this American History lesson, 11th graders read letters about the opportunities and obstacles people faced.  Students create a map of migration...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush -- Lesson 4

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students continue their examination of the Gold Rush in California. In groups, they use a map to examine the original sites of the towns and what happened to them. They work together to create a brochure for one of the towns and...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush Quiz

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students take a quiz about the Gold Rush that happened in California. In this Gold Rush lesson plan, students complete 8 multiple choice questions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Famous People of the Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research a famous person from the Gold Rush era. Using the Internet, they take notes from creditable websites and write their rough drafts of their paper. They use peer editing to check for spelling and grammar errors. ...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cariboo Gold Rush Adventure

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students play the online game Cariboo Gold Rush, in which students make decisions like the original gold miners did.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders practice researching the Gold Rush. In this research lesson, 4th graders take the Gold Rush and break it into smaller topics they can research. They fill in a graphic organizer to organize their topic and subtopic.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Legacy of War -- The Gold Rush and the Foreign Miner's Tax

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the results of the Mexican War from both countries. They analyze the impact of a war for the losing side. They also compare the politics of the time of the Mexican war with those of today.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Klondike Fever

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students consider the geographical aspects of the gold rush. In this gold lesson, students research just what gold is and where it has been found. Students create maps that highlight the regions of the world where gold has been found and...