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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush California and its Diverse Population

For Teachers 5th - 12th
Students compare contemporary cultural differences with historical differences based on population percentage. In this cross-curriculum Gold Rush/math lesson, students analyze aspects of California's Gold Rush population and diversity...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Times and Life During the California Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
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.
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Lesson Plan
Eastconn

Women of the California Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
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...
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Lesson Plan
Stanford University

The Gold Rush and San Francisco

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
The California Gold Rush rewrote the history of the American West, but especially that of San Francisco. After analyzing images of the city and primary sources, such as a diary entry, scholars discuss these changes. Scaffolded questions...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

California's Golden History: 1848-1880

For Teachers 11th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Movement and Migration: the Gold Nugget that launched the Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students learn what it was like to be a gold miner. In this California gold rush lesson plan, students watch a movie about the California gold rush and discuss what they learned. Students use the Internet to examine the gold nugget that...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gold Rush Experience: Create Your Own Exhibit

For Teachers 4th - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

California Gold Rush

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Water from the Well

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
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 gold...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Splendide Californie French Artists’ Impressionsof the Golden State, 1786-1900

For Teachers 6th - 8th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Census and Gold Rush Town

For Teachers 4th - 8th
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.
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Unit Plan
Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo History Museum: Curriculum Guide

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
Learn about the California Gold Rush from an institution that has been in place since the early days of the American West: Wells Fargo History Museum. From domain-specific vocabulary review to group research projects, an expansive packet...
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Lesson Plan
PBS

Baker's Gold

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners examine art of the California Gold Rush. In this visual arts lesson, students analyze the photography and art of Isaac Wallace Baker. Learners also conduct further research about the miners of the era in order to create...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Teaching with Objects The Gold Nugget

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders complete activities related to the California gold rush. In this gold rush activity, 4th graders go to an Internet website video that discusses the gold rush. They complete discuss miner's experiences, sing a gold rush...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Baltimoreans in the California Gold Rush

For Teachers 11th
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 migration...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush -- Lesson 4

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers 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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Learners identify the routes involved in the Gold Rush on a map. In this map skills instructional activity, students use a United States map to locate the routes used to travel to California during the Gold Rush. Learners demonstrate how...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Striking It Rich!

For Teachers 5th
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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush Quiz

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Young scholars take a quiz about the Gold Rush that happened in California. In this Gold Rush lesson plan, students complete 8 multiple choice questions.
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Worksheet
K12 Reader

Missing Nouns

For Students 3rd - 4th Standards
Scholars use nouns from a word bank to complete sentences in a fill-in-the-blank learning exercise that tells a tale about the California Gold Rush. 
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Metaphorical Gold: Mining the Gold Rush for Stories

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars 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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boom Town/Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students discover the history of California by researching the Gold Rush.  For this economics history lesson, students participate in a class discussion about the book Boom Town, and the value of gold in California.  Students participate...
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Worksheet
Curated OER

California- Gold Fever

For Students 4th - 5th
In this Gold Rush worksheet, students read a one page article with pictures and maps pertaining to the Gold Rush in California in 1949. Students then answer 4 essay questions.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Cariboo Gold Rush Adventure

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students play the online game Cariboo Gold Rush, in which students make decisions like the original gold miners did.