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...

There's gold in them thar hills! A short cartoon introduces middle schoolers to the California Gold Rush of 1849. The video encourages viewers to dig deeper and mine for a lode of information about gold mining, the 49ers, and the...

The California Gold Rush sparked many people to try for their fortunes and led to the formation of some well-known California cities. Have your class read about the changes that happened and then respond to the five included questions.

Immigration to the US has been a topic of discussion for many years. Inform your class about discrimination against immigrants during the Gold Rush with a short reading passage. After reading, class members answer five questions related...

New ReviewThe 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...

Young historians travel back through time as they explore Colorado's gold rush in this social studies lesson. After reading a first hand account of a woman's experience in a smelting facility, students complete the included graphic...

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.

Upon hearing of the gold discovery at Sutter's Mill in California in the 1840s, a flood of migrants went West in search of wealth and fame. Others, such as Chinese workers, came from farther away. Using video clips from historians and...

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...

Students complete pre reading, writing, and post reading activities for the book California Gold Rush. In this guided reading lesson plan, students complete writing, go over vocabulary, answer short answer questions, have discussions,...

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...

In this gold rush math instructional activity, students first read a one page text about the history of the Klondike gold rush then answer 10 math word problems using the information in the text. This is related to the book The Call of...

Eleventh graders explore the reasons for migration to California during the Gold Rush.  In this American History instructional activity, 11th graders read letters about the opportunities and obstacles people faced.  Students create a map...

Inquiry, investigation, and research are the hallmarks of a instructional activity that asks class members to examine a variety of primary and secondary sources about the Alaskan gold rushes. Groups then present their findings in the...

Eureka! Discover gold in this ELD history lesson, which provides both instruction and a number of activities. Teachers first engage the class in a "call and response" activity about people who came to California during the Gold Rush, and...

Take your class back to the New West and the times of the Gold Rush, with a great slide show. They'll find wonderful images and lots of easy-to-read informational text describing everything from boom towns to The Battle of Little Big...

Students identify the routes involved in the Gold Rush on a map. In this map skills lesson, students use a United States map to locate the routes used to travel to California during the Gold Rush. Students demonstrate how to use the map...

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...

Sixth graders examine the California Gold Rush. In this historical perspectives lesson, 6th graders analyze primary sources available from the Library of Congress that feature the gold rush and implications of gold mining in...

Jack London's novel The Call of the Wild is set during the Yukon Gold Rush and describes the harsh environment of the Klondike. Ask your class to describe the Klondike and consider the motivation needed to take a journey like the one so...

Pupils discover the multicultural nature of California during the Gold Rush through extensive primary source analysis, examining firsthand accounts of multicultural tensions and discussing the concept of California as a bilingual state...

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, activities,...

Jump into traditional Chinese culture with budding readers as they examine vocabulary in context through Shirin Yim Bridge's book Ruby's Wish. This book is read on YouTube if you don't have it on hand. Scholars are briefly introduced to...

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.