Gold Rush Unit

By Donna Yamada

Unit Rationale:

The rationale behind the development of this unit is to bring knowledge of the Gold Rush
in a fun, interactive way through the various activities. These activities will be cross
curricular to integrate standards throughout the subjects as well as richly woven with
21st century skills of critical thinking, collaboration, communication and creativity.
This unit will offer many uses of technology. My goal is to take my students on an
adventure of learning in a fun collaborative setting where technology is respected
and used in a purposeful way to create, research, discover, and present knowledge
and information.
Assessments will be seen in the activities provided for each lesson. A final project done
in a group or individually will be an activity of their choice based on subjects we covered
in this unit.
Ideas for final project include but are not limited to:
TED Talk
Slide Show with narration
Reenactment
Newspaper
Module 1: Overview of Unit
Module 2: Section 1- Lessons 1-3
Module 3: Section 2- Lessons 4-7

Table of Contents

Lesson Sequence Overview

Section 1: Gold Is Found

Lesson 1

What was the Gold Rush?

Lesson 2

Eureka!

Lesson 3

Which Path to California?

Essential Question: Why do people take risks?

Objectives:
Students will get an overview of what the Gold Rush was.
Assessments: Timeline of major events matching dates and times with support from text.
Google Docs journal entry telling what they learned from the lesson.

Essential Question: Who were the people who really benefited from the Gold Rush?
Objectives:
Explain which people got rich from the Gold Rush and what they did to get rich.
Explore the different methods of mining.
Analyze the elements of gold.
Assessments: Students will write a letter home on Google Docs telling parents who the real
winners were in the Gold Rush and why.

Essential Question: Which Passage would be worth the risk and why?
Objectives:
Students will know the 3 different routes taken to California
Students will label a map identifying the 3 main routes with their names
Students will identify the pros and cons of the three main routes to California.
Students will fill out a graphic organizer to show the pros and cons of each route
Assessments: Graphic Organizer: Format the organizer to Label 3 Routes, Method of
Transportation, Cost, and Time to get there.
Google Docs journal entry telling which method they would take and why.
Bonus Activity: Students can create an advertisement enticing people to take their method of
transportation to California.

Section 2: Life During the Gold Rush

Lesson 4

What Happened to Other Towns Because of the California Gold Rush

Lesson 5

A Miners Life

Essential Question: As a result of so many people coming to California, what happened to the
towns.
Objectives:
Students will describe the impact of the Gold Rush on the towns of California when the gold
went dry.
Students will look at different towns along Highway 49 and determine what happened to them.
Assessments:
Google Slide put together by all student teams highlighting their town. Students will use their
research to create a short synopsis on the history of their town.

Essential Question: Why would people want to be miners?

Objectives:
Students will investigate the diversity of the forty-niners and the conflict that existed
because of it.
Assessments: Google Docs: A narrative writing from a miners perspective about a day in the
life of a miner. Include such things as what they wore, what they ate, the routine in each day.

Lesson 6 Continued:

A Miners Life as a minority

Essential Question: Why were the miners who were of minority treated differently?
Objectives:
Students will continue to investigate the diversity of the forty-niners and the conflict that
existed because of it.
Assessments: A graphic organizer which shows the different races involved in the Gold Rush,
their perspective on what it was like.

Lesson 7

How the Gold Rush Towns Grew!

Essential Question: What jobs were created to the towns in California because of the influx of
the population?
Objectives:
Students will explain why other towns developed because of the Gold Rush and what businesses
were developed because of it.
Assessments: Students will collaborate in Google Docs to create an advertisement for their
business during the gold rush. They should show prices and make it appealing for someone to
want to buy their product or services.