Curated OER
Eureka! The Caledonia Mine
Young scholars create a 3-D model based on the core map, facilitating an understanding of the differences between types of gold mining.
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
All That Glitters Is Not Gold
Students identify the land claims for gold in the Dakota Territory and study the patterns of mining and milling operations in this region.
Curated OER
Going for the Gold
Students determine the impact of gold mining operations in 1879 on the immediate environment and compare the early impacts to extraction methods and regulatory laws governing mining operations today in South Dakota.
Curated OER
Gold Mine
Students investigate gold. In this gold panning lesson, students demonstrate the process of mining through an experiment using two boxes of sand. Students design a safe way to mine gold.
Curated OER
The Golden Opportunity
Students use the core map to recreate a gold mining landscape and role-play as prospectors to explain why they came to this region.
Curated OER
Gold Mine
Pupils view and discuss a demonstration of how gold is mined and panned. They design and create a tunnel that has reinforcements to withstand collapse.
National Council of Teachers of English
A Bear of a Poem: Composing and Performing Found Poetry
Scholars work collaboratively to compose a found poem from one of their favorite stories. With a finished product in hand, class members form a circle and perform their work for an audience by taking turns reciting one line till the poem...
Curated OER
Testing the Caverns
Students build model caverns using paper mache or clay and bury them in a tray of sand. They test the models by dropping balls onto them to simulate an asteroid hitting the earth. They evaluate the effectiveness of a structure against...
The Newberry Library
Newberry: Environmental History: Map 8: Mining in South Dakota, 1878
Lessons for K-12 based on a series of maps teaches students about the environmental changes resulting from mining in South Dakota, 1878.
Other
The Weekly South Dakotan: South Dakota History for 4th Grade
From the very beginning and through the twentieth century, this comprehensive collection of lessons will enrich students studying the history in between and the effects on South Dakota.
US National Archives
Our Documents: Treaty of Fort Laramie(1868)
Read and view a copy of the complete text of the treaty of Fort Laramie which recognized the Black Hills as part of the Sioux Reservation. Accompanying documentary explains how the treaty was broken as a result of the discovery of gold...
Curated OER
National Park Service: Wind Cave National Park: History of the Black Hills
Story of the discovery of gold in the Black Hills of South Dakota and resulting violations of 1868 treaty with Lakota Indians.