Curated OER
Boom Town/Gold Rush
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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A Legacy of War -- The Gold Rush and the Foreign Miner's Tax
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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Klondike Fever
Students consider the geographical aspects of the gold rush. For 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...
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The Adventure Begins: "Boys I Believe I Have Found a Gold Mine!"
Learners view and discuss historical documents regarding Native Americans and Californians prior to the gold rush in the 1940's. They complete a variety of activities designed to show what they have learned from these sources and class...
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Gold Rush Abolitionists: How different was the role of Spanish-speaking blacks under Mexican rule from the role of English-speaking blacks under U.S. rule?
Students determine how Spanish-speaking blacks and English speaking blacks were treated differently. In this emancipation lesson plan, students compare the Mexican and American rules regarding slavery.
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How is Gold Found in the Ground?
Fourth graders participate in a series of activities designed to simulate mining for gold. They pan for "gold" and create a safe tunnel.
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California Here We Come!
Students, in groups, explore the impac the Gold Rush immigration had on the culture of California. They write a newspaper article from the 1850s identifying immigrant groups to California during the Gold Rush era.
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Striking It Rich!
Fifth graders explore the California Gold Rush. They explore the lure of gold and the Wild West, how pioneers traveled to the West, and the hardships and people they encountered along the way. Activities be authentic, hands-on, and...
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Skagway: Gateway to the Klondike
Students explore the impact of the Klondike Gold Rush on the development of Skagway, Alaska. Lesson can be used in units on western expansion, late 19th and early 20th-century commerce, and urban history.
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"All We Want Is an Equal Chance, an Open Field, and a Fair Fight"
Young scholars 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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Eureka! You've Struck
While incomplete, this lesson could provide ideas for a lesson on the California gold rush. Learners look at a chart to analyze population growth in San Francisco after the discovery of gold, analyze political changes that occurred, and...
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Days of '49: "I've Been Toiling Hard for the Last Two And a Half Years"
Students trace the stages of gold mining in California. They discuss the life of a gold miner and how the discovery of gold influenced towns and cities in California during the 1949 Gold Rush.
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Rancho San Pedro
Students perform 15 different activities in order to investigate what life on a rancho in California was like in the 1800's.
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Gold Fever
In this reading worksheet, students answer 10 multiple-choice questions about the book. For example, "Why did John Sutter ask James Marshall to keep the gold a secret?"
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...
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Motivational Introduction to the California Gold Rush
Fourth graders download pictures and write script for narration as they create a KidPix slide show to introduce the study of the California Gold Rush.
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Yukon Gold Rush
Seventh graders explore the background information for the book, Call of the Wild. They use electronic and video resources to establish the background. Students discuss the poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and the Yukon Gold Rush.
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Gold Fever
Young scholars read the story Gold Fever about the Gold Rush and write journal entries as if they were miners. In this Gold Rush lesson plan, students also pull out rocks from a back, and if they pick a gold one, they have struck it rich!
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Getting There: "Do You Want To Go To California?"
Young scholars, in groups, participate in a variety of activities regarding the rise of Anglo-American immigration in the 1840s and its impact upon California. They discuss immigration from the West and the East as it influenced the...
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Heritage: Seeking Land or Gold
Middle schoolers write a persuasive letter home defending their decision either to settle in Utah and farm the land, or to go on to California to seek gold. They analyze a problem, make a decision, and write a letter defending their choice.
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Chinese Immigration in the Mid-19th Century
High schoolers interpret historical evidence presented in primary and secondary resources. In this Chinese immigration lesson, students research the Chinese immigration between 1850 and 1882.
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Legacies of El Dorado
Students explore the development of urban California as it was driven by the Gold Rush boom. They study historical documents and participate in a variety of hands-on activities designed to reinforce the concept of the lesson.
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Ethnic Family Life
Eleventh graders examine the impact of the gold rush on different cultures. In this American History lesson, 11th graders examine the reasons for ethnic diversity in the west.
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Heading West
Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. lesson, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students describe...