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Women of the California Gold Rush
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...
Curated OER
The Times and Life During the California Gold Rush
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.
Curated OER
Gold Rush California and its Diverse Population
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...
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
Water from the Well
How much water does it take to brush your teeth? How about to wash your clothes? Perform an experiment that measures water usage in everyday tasks and compares them to the days before indoor plumbing, specifically the California...
Curated OER
Introduce Vocabulary: Ruby's Wish (Bridges)
Jump into traditional Chinese culture with budding readers as they examine vocabulary in context through Shirin Yim Bridge's book Ruby's Wish. This book is read on YouTube if you don't have it on hand. Scholars are briefly...
Curated OER
California's Golden History: 1848-1880
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...
Curated OER
Splendide Californie French Artists’ Impressionsof the Golden State, 1786-1900
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...
Curated OER
The Gold Rush Experience: Create Your Own Exhibit
Students create a virtual exhibit. In this gold rush lesson, 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...
Curated OER
Movement and Migration: the Gold Nugget that launched the Gold Rush
Young scholars learn what it was like to be a gold miner. In this California gold rush instructional activity, students watch a movie about the California gold rush and discuss what they learned. Young scholars use the Internet to...
PBS
Baker's Gold
Students examine art of the California Gold Rush. In this visual arts lesson, students analyze the photography and art of Isaac Wallace Baker. Students also conduct further research about the miners of the era in order to create...
Curated OER
Teaching with Objects The Gold Nugget
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,...
Curated OER
California Gold Rush
Students discover the people who lived in California before and after the gold rush. They use primary source documents to identify how the finding of gold changed the area. They also discover the discrimation that was present during the...
Curated OER
Baltimoreans in the California Gold Rush
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...
Curated OER
Census and Gold Rush Town
Students 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.
Curated OER
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...
Curated OER
Eureka! You've Struck
While incomplete, this lesson plan could provide ideas for a lesson plan 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...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Metaphorical Gold: Mining the Gold Rush for Stories
Students complete a history and research lesson about the Gold Rush using selections from Jack London. In this Gold rush research lesson, students research the Klondike/Alaska Gold Rush and use details from the history in their own...
Curated OER
The Gold Rush
Learners 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. Learners demonstrate how to use the map...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
The Gold Rush: An Introduction
Eleventh graders study the Gold Rush in relation to "To Build a Fire." They research a website and view a Power Point presentation on the Alaskan Gold Rush. They write notes on a graphic organizer and write a sentence supporting their...
San Francisco Symphony
By the Great Horn Spoon!
By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...
Curated OER
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.