Curated OER
Washoe Indians: Dat-so-la-lee
Young scholars study the life and crafts of Washoe Indian, Dat-so-la-lee. In this Washoe Indians lesson, students read and study the life of Washoe Indian basket weaver Dat-so-la-lee. Young scholars study images of her crafts and discuss...
Curated OER
Oh My Darling
Students discuss human interaction with the environment and sing "Clementine" with historical fiction lyrics. They create a map or model of a mining camp in which Clementine may have lived. They discuss what might happen to their...
Curated OER
Rincon History Museum
Students visit the Rincon History Museum in California. They discover different periods in the state's history and discuss. They view the art and explain what can be learned from it.
Curated OER
Planning a Railroad
Students use a topographical map to plan a route from Doknner Summit to Truckee, then compare it to the route selected by Theodore Judah.
Curated OER
Prune Boom
Young scholars explore the process of harvesting and canning prunes. They discover the benefits of prunes to the Santa Clara Valley. Students investigate prunes at designated websites.
Curated OER
San Francisco, Ahoy!
Fifth graders analyze paintings that share a common theme of San Francisco as seen by some of the first travelers who arrived there. In this art history lesson plan, 5th graders consider the experiences involved with the arrival to a new...
Curated OER
4 and 5 Digit Dividends
In this dividend activity, students divide to solve 6 word problems. All problems have 4 or 5 digit dividends. Problems 1 and 2 have been started for students.
The History Cat
The History Cat: The California Gold Rush
Describes the events that led to the California Gold Rush, the lives of the miners, the discrimination faced by Chinese immigrant miners and African Americans, the women who mostly stayed behind when their husbands went west as well as...
Read Works
Read Works: Westward Expansion the California Gold Rush
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the discovery of gold along the West Coast. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
Harvard University
Harvard Univ.: Immigration to Us, 1789 1930: California Gold Rush (1848 1858)
Describes the California Gold Rush and the impact it had on immigration to the United States and to the future demographics of California. Includes a high-resolution map of the gold region of California in 1851.
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: Gold Rush Era: Everyday Life and People
A collection of primary source photos from 19th-century California which portray what everyday life was like during the California Gold Rush.
Other
California State Parks: Gold Rush
The California State Parks presents a brief unit on the California Gold Rush including three lessons which begin with the westward movement to California for gold, the actual process of mining for gold, then the effects of the rush on...
Calisphere: University of California Libraries
University of California: Calisphere: Gold Rush Era, 1848 1865: Disasters
A collection of primary source materials that highlight the risks of natural disasters associated with the California Gold Rush as people rushed in to seek their fortunes.
Kidport
Kidport: The California Gold Rush (1848 to 1859)
From here, access simple write-ups on the San Francisco Gold Rush. Topics covered include: "Life of a 49er," "Foreign Miners," "Law and Order," and "After the Gold Rush."
Other
The California Gold Country: The Mining Camps
This site is based on the book The California Gold Country: Highway 49 Revisited by Elliot H. Koeppel. This page provides an interactive map showing gold mining camps that have survived and exist as towns today. Most of the place names...
Duke University
California Gold: The Diary and Letters of James M. Burr
Wonderful primary resource on the California Gold Rush. Read actual letters and a diary--with explanatory annotations--by a prospector from 1850-1853.
Smithsonian Institution
National Museum of American History: Van Valen's Gold Rush Journey
In this superb interactive exhibition, students explore primary resources and learn about the reasons people left their homes to search for wealth during the California Gold Rush. Van Valen, along with four other men, set out in 1849 to...
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Fortune Smiled on Many Black Miners
This CalGoldRush.com site discusses the triumphs African American's had during the California gold rush. Many blacks were able to purchase their freedom and the freedom of their families back home.
Huntington Library
Huntington Library: Land of Golden Dreams: California in the Gold Rush
A rich site on the California gold rush, 1848-1858. An online exhibit traces the gold rush using primary sources, a teacher page gives lesson plans from 4-12 and a kid's page offers further online adventures. Takes a long time to load.
Sacramento Bee
Gold Rush: Mother Lode Now Strikes Gold in Tourism
This CalGoldRush.com site contains an article on the effects that the California gold rush has on California's tourism. Many people still come from far lands to get a glimpse of what is was like to be a gold miner.
Other
The Object of History: Behind the Scenes With Curators of the Nmah: Gold Nugget
Take a look at and lend an ear for primary sources featuring the California Gold Rush. Men and women from around the world landed in the United States and flocked to the west coast in search of nuggets of gold.
Other
California Gold Country: No Place for a Woman?
Information about women in the California gold camps.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Ap Us History: 1865 1898: The American West: The Gold Rush
Describes the impact of the California Gold Rush of 1848 which brought hundreds of thousands of gold-seeking migrants to the region. This massive influx of people to a place with little law enforcement and no infrastructure led to...
Other
Montana Junior College: Mining History and Geology of the California Gold Rush
The physical characteristics, history, and mining of gold in California are examined in this thorough site.