Introduction
This book is a short lesson on the start of the California Gold Rush. It includes the beginning of the Gold Rush, a definition of a key term, a video from Youtube describing the Gold Rush, and a question at the end to think about how a student would react to the news of gold being found in California. I changed the settings of the book to have “Collaboration” on, which means that students within my Book Creator Library can join and edit the book itself (rather than copying and creating their own book). I also locked all of the features on the page and selected “Prevent unlocking” so that students are not able to edit the pages in the lesson. They are able to add new pages to the book with their respective responses to the question. What I really like about Book Creator is the collaborative aspect of all students building one book together.
A Golden Discovery
In 1848, John Sutter was building a sawmill on his recently purchased property.
In the muddy waters of the American River, James Marshall, the carpenter hired to build the sawmill, found gold nuggets.
In the muddy waters of the American River, James Marshall, the carpenter hired to build the sawmill, found gold nuggets.
The Secret Was Out
Within a few months, the secret was out. Hundreds of prospectors came in search of their own fortunes.
And within a year, nearly one hundred thousand people from the US and the world traveled to California with the hope of striking it rich.
Because it was 1849, they became known as the “Forty Niners”
And within a year, nearly one hundred thousand people from the US and the world traveled to California with the hope of striking it rich.
Because it was 1849, they became known as the “Forty Niners”
Prospector
People who explore areas for gold or other minerals.
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Watch this video to get a better understanding of the start of the Gold Rush.Loading...
Imagine that you just heard that there was free gold in the mountains of California. Would you go and seek a fortune? Why? Why not?Add a new page to respond and use images if you would like. Be sure to include your name!
Image References
Historic Park, C. (2018, November 15). Smithsonian Learning Lab Resource: California Gold Rush Miner using Gold Pan. Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/california-gold-rush-era-mining-technique-photos/hy6VPv8zt6wGWByy#r/520033
Historic Park, C. (2018, October 11). Smithsonian Learning Lab Resource: California Gold Rush Miners with Long Tom and Mining Tools. Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/california-gold-rush-era-mining-technique-photos/hy6VPv8zt6wGWByy#r/498513
PBS (2001) ca_americanriver. Retrieved March 6, 2023. http://www.shoppbs.pbs.org/weta/thewest/places/states/
california/ca_americanriver.htm
Pngimg.com (2023) Gold nugget PNG image image with transparent background | gold_PNG10995.png. Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://pngimg.com/image/10995
Historic Park, C. (2018, October 11). Smithsonian Learning Lab Resource: California Gold Rush Miners with Long Tom and Mining Tools. Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://learninglab.si.edu/collections/california-gold-rush-era-mining-technique-photos/hy6VPv8zt6wGWByy#r/498513
PBS (2001) ca_americanriver. Retrieved March 6, 2023. http://www.shoppbs.pbs.org/weta/thewest/places/states/
california/ca_americanriver.htm
Pngimg.com (2023) Gold nugget PNG image image with transparent background | gold_PNG10995.png. Retrieved March 6, 2023. https://pngimg.com/image/10995
In The Classroom
I would use this book at the beginning of the Social Studies unit that covers The California Gold Rush. Putting some context to frame their work and incorporating aspects of ELA (Writing) to have a comprehensive book that includes the opinions and views of how students would approach life during the Gold Rush. This is more a pre-lesson exercise as students will predict what they think they would do if they were in a similar situation. It also allows for them to add images into their slides to add a level of creativity to their work.
As we learn more about the Gold Rush era, we can look back at everyone’s initial opinion to see if it has changed.
As we learn more about the Gold Rush era, we can look back at everyone’s initial opinion to see if it has changed.
