Unit 1: Gold Is Found Lesson 1 What Was the Gold Rush?

Essential Question: What causes people to take risks?

Objectives:

Background:

Students will be able to retell the cause of the

Gold Rush as well as when and where it
happened.

The California Gold Rush (1848-1855) began

on January 24, 1848, after James Marshall
found gold at Sutters Mill in Coloma
California.

SWBAT explain the importance of the

discovery of gold.
Lesson Overview:
Introduce the unit as a journey we will be going
on together as we travel back in time to 1848.
I will share a map of Coloma and the
neighboring gold mines.
Show the Gold Rush Video
Read together Social Studies text Macmillan/
MacGraw Hill p.228
Students will set up their journal and record their
first entry on the news that was just heard.

Activities:
Students will set up a journal on Google
Docs to record their experiences as they
journey through the Gold Rush experience.
Students will set up a folder in Google Docs
named Gold Rush to put future projects and
assignments in the folder.
Timeline Activity putting events in order and
creating a timeline in Timetoast.

Students will create a folder in Google Docs to put

future assignments and projects.

Materials:
Gold Rush Video
Coloma

Key Vocabulary:
primary source
forty-niner

Student Journals
Computers: Google Doc set up file
Macmillan MacGraw Hill: California Vistas Our
Golden State text p.228