Eastconn
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
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...
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...
Avi Writer
Hard Gold: Teaching Guide
Designed for Hard Gold, a novel in Avi's I Witness series, this teaching guide includes a summary of the story and information about the writer as well as chapter-by-chapter vocabulary lists, text-based reading questions,...
K12 Reader
Missing Nouns
Scholars use nouns from a word bank to complete sentences in a fill-in-the-blank activity that tells a tale about 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
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
Gold Rush Quiz
In this Gold Rush activity, learners answer multiple choice questions about the Gold Rush. Students answer 20 questions total.
Curated OER
Gold Rush -- Lesson 4
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...
Curated OER
Gold Rush Quiz
Students take a quiz about the Gold Rush that happened in California. In this Gold Rush lesson plan, students complete 8 multiple choice questions.
Curated OER
The Adventure Begins: "Boys I Believe I Have Found a Gold Mine!"
Students view and discuss historical documents regarding Native Americans and Californians prior to the gold rush in the 1940's. They complete a variety of activities designed to show what they have learned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...
Curated OER
Klondike Fever
Students consider the geographical aspects of the gold rush. In this gold lesson plan, 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...
Curated OER
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.
Curated OER
Legacies of El Dorado
High schoolers 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.
Oklahoma State Department of Education
Narrative Prompt
Reading about history is nothing like experiencing it firsthand. Encourage your eighth graders to do the next best thing with a historical narrative prompt, in which they describe the experience of a first-time traveler on the...
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.
Curated OER
San Francisco Explodes
Students investigate why San Francisco grew so quickly during the Gold Rush. They
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...
Stanford University
Chinese Immigration and Exclusion
The Chinese Exclusion Act was the first race-based restriction on immigration in American history. Why was the act passed after Chinese immigrants helped build the Transcontinental Railroad? A series of documents, including speeches and...
Central Bucks School District
Making Generalizations
Being able to recognize patterns, craft generalizations, and draw conclusions based on information in a text passage are essential critical thinking skills. Encourage learners to hone these skills with a worksheet that asks them to read...
Curated OER
The Legend of Freedom Hill
Third graders complete pre reading, writing, during reading, and interdisciplinary activities for the book The Legend of Freedom Hill. In this reading lesson plan, 3rd graders complete journal entries, go over vocabulary, answer short...
Curated OER
Those Golden Jeans - Demand Schedule
Young scholars build a demand schedule, and analyze a supply schedule for slices of cheese pizza, and then determine the market clearing price. They analyze the market if prices are set above or below the market clearing price.
Curated OER
Planning a Railroad
Learners use a topographical map to plan a route from Doknner Summit to Truckee, then compare it to the route selected by Theodore Judah.
Other
California State Parks: Gold Rush
The California State Parks presents a brief unit on the California Gold Rush including three lessons which begin with the westward movement to California for gold, the actual process of mining for gold, then the effects of the rush on...