+
Handout
Other

California State Parks: Gold Rush Overview

For Students 3rd - 8th
Get basic facts about the 1848 discovery of gold by John Marshall at Sutter's Mill and the subsequent Gold Rush in California and American history.
+
Website
Smithsonian Institution

National Postal Museum: As Precious as Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
"As Precious as Gold," is an online exhibit from the National Postal Museum which explores the rich history of the Alaskan/Klondike gold rushes. Find stories on extraordinary women, the trails, the Palm Sunday avalanche, the U.S. Postal...
+
Handout
Other

Montana Junior College: Mining History and Geology of the California Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
The physical characteristics, history, and mining of gold in California are examined in this thorough site.
+
Website
Oakland Museum of California

California's Untold Stories: Gold Fever

For Students 9th - 10th
A comprehensive site that offers a look at the "Gold Fever" of the California Gold Rush, with photos.
+
Primary
Duke University

California Gold: The Diary and Letters of James M. Burr

For Students 9th - 10th
Wonderful primary resource on the California Gold Rush. Read actual letters and a diary--with explanatory annotations--by a prospector from 1850-1853.
+
Lesson Plan
American Geosciences Institute

American Geosciences Institute: Earth Science Week: Gold Panning

For Teachers 5th - 9th
Have young scholars simulate the Gold Rush by panning for gold in the classroom.
+
Article
Khan Academy

Khan Academy: Us History: 1865 1898: The Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
The 1848 discovery of gold in the territory of California prompted 300,000 hopeful prospectors to flood into the region, altering it forever.
+
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Gold Rush

For Teachers 3rd
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about a man who found a buried treasure in England. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
+
Primary
Other

The Object of History: Behind the Scenes With Curators of the Nmah: Gold Nugget

For Students 9th - 10th
Take a look at and lend an ear for primary sources featuring the California Gold Rush. Men and women from around the world landed in the United States and flocked to the west coast in search of nuggets of gold.
+
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Sacramento Bee: Gold Rush Cost in Environmental Damage

For Students 9th - 10th
This site discusses how the California gold rush left lasting damage of the California environment. Read how the state's environment has been forever changed.
+
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: 'Real Women' Who Defied Stereotype

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the role of the women during the gold rush in California. They served in a variety of roles and many made more than miners. This page tells their stories.
+
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: His Path Back to Japan Was Paved With Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the life of Manjiro Nakahama, a Japanese immigrant who made enough money during the gold rush in California that he was able to return home to Japan.
+
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Justice Wasn't Pretty but It Was Quick

For Students 9th - 10th
This CalGoldRush.com site contains information on justice and law in California during the gold rush. Many felons lost their lives at the end of a rope.
+
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Some Found Riches, Many Found Themselves

For Students 9th - 10th
This site discusses how many miners never made it rich, but had an adventure of a lifetime during the California gold rush.
+
Handout
Sacramento Bee

Gold Rush: Culture Took Hold Despite Tough Crowds

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource contains information on the development of culture in California during the gold rush. Culture developed in spite of the harsh conditions and tough people.
+
Website
Oakland Museum of California

Oakland Museum of California: Gold Rush! California's Untold Stories

For Students 9th - 10th
View a virtual tour of a real exhibition at the Oakland Museum of California that commemorates the 150th anniversary of the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill on January 24, 1848, and the frenzied rush to California of gold seekers from...
+
Graphic
Other

Object of History: Chinese Miners (Chinese Immigration During the Gold Rush)

For Students 9th - 10th
An image is provided of "Gan Saam Meets El Dorado," which depicts the Chinese miners in California during the 1850s in search of gold.
+
Website
Other

Valdez Museum Anbd Historical Archive: Valdez Gold Rush Images

For Students 9th - 10th
This site documents the struggle that gold prospectors had to undergo. Images, their description, a timeline, majors events, and other links can be found on this.
+
Handout
Other

Shelby County Historical Society: Gold Rush Miners From Shelby County, Ohio

For Students 9th - 10th
Tells the story of the Staley brothers who headed to Alaska and Canada in search of gold.
+
Handout
Museum of the City of San Francisco

Virtual Museum of San Francisco: African American Rights Gold Rush Era

For Students 9th - 10th
Provides information concerning African American rights in the California gold country before the Civil War.
+
Article
Henry J. Sage

Sage American History: California and the Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
Article by Henry Sage explaining the history of California, how it became a state, and how President Polks desire to acquire California contributed to the Mexican-American War.
+
Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Searching for Gold: A Collaborative Inquiry Project

For Teachers 3rd - 8th
Contains plans for six lessons that ask students to research the Gold Rush before teaching each other about it. In addition to objectives and standards, this instructional plan contains links to sites used in the lessons as well as...
+
eBook
OpenStax

Open Stax: Making a Living in Gold and Cattle

For Students 11th - 12th
In this section, students will learn about the major discoveries and developments in western gold, silver, and copper mining in the mid-nineteenth century. They will be able to explain why the cattle industry was paramount to the...
+
Website
Oakland Museum of California

Gold Rush: Law, Order and Justice for Some Discrimination

For Students 9th - 10th
This resource presents information about the culturally diverse mining towns in California during the time of the gold rush and the treatment of minorities.

Other popular searches