Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Motivational Introduction to the California Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders download pictures and write script for narration as they create a KidPix slide show to introduce the study of the California Gold Rush.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Metaphorical Gold: Mining the Gold Rush for Stories

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Students complete a history and research instructional activity about the Gold Rush using selections from Jack London. In this Gold rush research instructional activity, students research the Klondike/Alaska Gold Rush and use details...
Interactive
University of Richmond

The Overland Trails 1840-1860

For Students 9th - 12th Standards
What led Americans to head west in the 1800s? Using an interactive map and journals from those who traveled, pupils explore the stories of those who migrated. In addition, they see how the numbers fluctuated in response to the push-pull...
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 lesson, students use a United States map to locate the routes used to travel to California during the Gold Rush. Learners demonstrate how to use the map...
Activity
Education World

Every-Day Edit: California Gold Rush

For Students 3rd - 8th
In this everyday editing activity, students correct grammatical mistakes in a short paragraph about the California gold rush. The errors range from punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and spelling.
PPT
Curated OER

Chapter 12: American History

For Teachers 8th - 9th
Short and to the point, these slides cover some basic points about life in 19th centrury America. Topics such as Texas Independence, the California Gold Rush, and the Oregon Territory are briefly mentioned, and some of the facts are hard...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Legacy of War -- The Gold Rush and the Foreign Miner's Tax

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students examine the results of the Mexican War from both countries. They analyze the impact of a war for the losing side. They also compare the politics of the time of the Mexican war with those of today.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Gold Rush: An Introduction

For Teachers 11th
Eleventh graders study the Gold Rush in relation to "To Build a Fire." They research a website and view a Power Point presentation on the Alaskan Gold Rush. They write notes on a graphic organizer and write a sentence supporting their...
Lesson Plan
San Francisco Symphony

By the Great Horn Spoon!

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
By The Great Horn Spoon is a fantastic novel for introducing learners to life during the California Gold Rush. First, kids research and analyze American folk songs, then they connect to the text as they listen to symphonic pieces written...
Worksheet
abcteach

Gold Found in California

For Students 4th - 5th
In this historical reading comprehension learning exercise, students read a factual account of the Gold Rush. Students answer 14 questions about the passage.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Days of '49: "I've Been Toiling Hard for the Last Two And a Half Years"

For Teachers 6th - 11th
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.
Worksheet
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Hetch Hetchy: The Story of San Francisco's Water

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
How did San Francisco supply enough water for its residents over the last two centuries? Learn about droughts and water conservation in California, as well as specific historical events that led to the water system today. Kids read...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Boom Town/Gold Rush

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

Manifest Destiny

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Complete with maps, photographs, and historical documents, this presentation would be a great resource throughout a unit about mid-19th century America. Manifest Destiny, Texas Independence, the Oregon Trail, and the Mexican War are...
Interactive
Curated OER

Gold Rush Quiz

For Students 4th - 8th
In this Gold Rush activity, students answer multiple choice questions about the Gold Rush. Students answer 20 questions total.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Famous People of the Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders research a famous person from the Gold Rush era. Using the Internet, they take notes from creditable websites and write their rough drafts of their paper. They use peer editing to check for spelling and grammar errors. ...
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.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush -- Lesson 4

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

Traveling to the Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush Quiz

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

California- Gold Fever

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

The Gold Rush

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders practice researching the Gold Rush. In this research lesson, 4th graders take the Gold Rush and break it into smaller topics they can research. They fill in a graphic organizer to organize their topic and subtopic.
Worksheet
Curated OER

Gold Rush

For Students 6th - 8th
In this gold rush worksheet, learners utilize a word bank of 10 terms or phrases to answer 10 fill in the blank questions about the nation during the time period. A short answer question is included as well.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

California Here We Come!

For Teachers 4th - 5th
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.