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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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Worksheet
Curated OER

Mystery State #26

For Students 4th - 6th
In this mystery state worksheet, students answer five clues to identify the state in question. They then locate that state on a map.
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Worksheet
Curated OER

A Timely Occupation

For Students 5th - 8th
In this Gold Rush worksheet, students fill out a chart for the job or business, the products or services provided, what we have today, and the services it provides. Students complete this for 14 jobs during the Gold Rush.
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Heading West

For Teachers 4th - 5th
Students study the concept of the westward expansion. In this exploration of the western U.S. instructional activity, students participate in different activities that explain economic hardships, jobs, and land opportunities. Students...
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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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Interactive
Curated OER

Gold Rush Quiz

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

Gold Rush Quiz

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students 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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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Gold Rush Abolitionists: How different was the role of Spanish-speaking blacks under Mexican rule from the role of English-speaking blacks under U.S. rule?

For Teachers 8th - 12th
Students determine how Spanish-speaking blacks and English speaking blacks were treated differently. In this emancipation lesson plan, students compare the Mexican and American rules regarding slavery.     
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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. ...
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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...
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Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Yukon Gold Rush

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders explore the background information for the book, Call of the Wild. They use electronic and video resources to establish the background. Students discuss the poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and the Yukon Gold Rush.
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Unit Plan
Annenberg Foundation

Annenberg Learner: America's History in the Making: Contested Territories

For Students 9th - 10th
This site highlights the westward expansion of settlers in North America and the effects this expansion had on Native Americans between the Revolutionary and Civil Wars.
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Unit Plan
Other

State of Alaska: Department of Education: Alaska's Gold

For Students 9th - 10th
Information, stories, historical images, and documents about the discovery of gold in Alaska in the late nineteenth century.
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Primary
Other

The Object of History: Behind the Scenes With Curators of the Nmah: Gold Nugget

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Website
Huntington Library

Huntington Library: Land of Golden Dreams: California in the Gold Rush

For Students 9th - 10th
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.
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Handout
PBS

New Perspectives on the West: John Augustus Sutter (1803 1880)

For Students 9th - 10th
Biography of John Sutter, a Swiss settler who helped to develop Californian and saw his fortunes dwindle after the California Gold Rush.
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Handout
PBS

New Perspectives on the West: James Wilson Marshall (1810 1885)

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief biography of James Marshall who discovered gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848, which led to the California Gold Rush.
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Website
Museums Victoria

Immigration Museum: Discovery Centre Resources

For Students 9th - 10th
This site presents a timeline, personal stories and information sheets regarding Autralia's immigration history.