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Houghton Mifflin Social Studies/Chapter 8, Lesson 1: Farming Takes Hold (pp. 184-187)
Fourth graders discuss that the movement toward farming during the 1850's to the 1870's meant for California. The economy of California is studied in relationship to the effects of farming. There are several focus questions to help...
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Houghton Mifflin Social Studies/Chapter 13, Lesson 1 The Past Shapes the Future (pp. 292-295)
Fourth graders reflect upon the events of the past in order to make cognitive connections to present or future history. Students use Blooms Taxonomy to attain higher levels of thinking.
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First European Settlers:Oh, California
Students trace the paths of the early explorers who sent three expeditions to settle California. They analyze possible reasons why the land expeditions took longer than ocean routes.
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Life of a Mission - From Beginning to Now
Middle schoolers research the history of a Spanish mission. They create a timeline showing the major events of the mission. They complete a worksheet to end the lesson.
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Traveling to the Gold Rush
Fourth graders research the experiences the people who traveled to California during the Gold Rush by land and sea. They create a map showing the various routes that individuals took to get to California. Students explain the...
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From Missions to Ranchos
Fourth graders examine the conversion of the California missions into ranchos. They develop a pros and cons chart, write a first person narrative describing the changing life from the missions to the ranchos, and create a poster of...
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That Was Then, This Is Now
Students examine the price of food over time. They analyze charts, perform math operations and compare and contrast data about the price of food. They complete worksheets while interperting the charts.
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The Gam Saan Adventure- Are You Willing to Risk it?
Students explain how California became an agricultural and industrial power, tracing the transformation of the California economy and its development since the 1850's.
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You Can Depend on Me
Students identify how they depend on others, and examine and discuss the images on the California Quarter Reverse. They view and discuss images of various habitats, complete a Habitat Research worksheet, and create a habitat diorama.
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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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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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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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the World Rushed In: "Who Are These People? And How Came They Here?"
Students discuss the struggles Californians dealt with regarding diversity brought about by the Gold Rush. They participate in a variety of creative, original activities and projects designed to reinforce the idea of historical diversity...
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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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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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Narrative History - Hypertext Dialogues
Students create scripts about California settlers. The document reflects the settlers' fears, expectations, and realizations.
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Cariboo Gold Rush Adventure
Students play the online game Cariboo Gold Rush, in which students make decisions like the original gold miners did.
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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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California Regions
Fourth graders explore the four regions of California and compare and contrast them, and use pictures and research information to describe how regions vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife and climate.
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The State Seal Online Lesson
Fourth graders investigate the Seal of the State of California and the meaning of its parts.
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California Regions
Students explore and compare and contrast the four main regions of California: mountains, coast, central valley, and desert. students use pictures and research to describe how regions vary in land use, vegetation, wildlife and climate.
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50 States Word Search
For this fifty states worksheet, students identify and locate all fifty states of the United States of America. There are 50 states located in the word search.
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Words In The News: Beverly Hills Smoking Ban
Students read news articles about the proposed smoking ban in California restaurants. After discussing the news report, they role-play scenarios about nonsmoking situations. In groups, they brainstorm the pros and cons of smoking bans...
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VAcations in Northern California
Students explore the natural resources and National Parks of Northern California that are commonly visited by people traveling in the United States. They use maps to locate various sites, plan a highway travel route and use the internet...