LESSON TITLE: The California Gold Rush

Name(s): Grade: Date:

David deSilva 8th Grade 4/16/21
Danielle Dominguez Subject Area: Time Duration:
U.S. History 45-50 min

I. Overview (Less than 1 minute): Purpose is to guide instruction toward a coherent objective.
Should be a significant and measurable statement of what students will know and be able to do
as a result of the lesson.
Help students understand why so many people came to CA during this period, identify who
participated in the gold rush, and conceptualize how social identity impacted the experience of
prospectors.
1. What are the CA Content Standard(s) AND Common Core Standards addressed?
Common Core: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8
- Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
- Determine the central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an
accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
- Identify key steps in a text’s description of a process related to history/social studies (e.g.,
how a bill becomes law, how interest rates are raised or lowered).
- Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including
vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.
- Describe how a text presents information (e.g., sequentially, comparatively, causally).
- Identify aspects of a text that reveal an author’s point of view or purpose (e.g., loaded
language, inclusion or avoidance of particular facts).
- Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with
other information in print and digital texts.
- Distinguish among fact, opinion, and reasoned judgment in a text.
- Describe the purpose, challenges, and economic incentives associated with westward
expansion, including the concept of Manifest Destiny

2. What is/are the Essential Question(s) for the day?

How did the gold rush change/impact California?

3. What materials (e.g...handouts, readings, primary sources, graphic organizer, video,

PowerPoint, etc...) will be used? (Need to bring all materials on day of lesson)
A song from the time period (Opener)
PowerPoint (Lecture)
Primary Source – Images from the Gold Rush and political cartoons
Activity – Breakout Rooms and primary source analysis, Google Classroom
Homework – Google Classroom PDF
II. Anticipatory Set/aka Opener (About 4 minutes): Purpose is to access prior knowledge,
connect prior knowledge to new knowledge, cue attention toward day’s topic, and/or create
interest. The opener introduces the lesson, but should not overwhelm the it. A good set
seamlessly flows into instruction.
Summary of Opener:
Students will listen to a song about the gold rush that was created during the gold rush period.
Questions: What is the song about? What does this song say about the different types of people
who came to California in search for gold?

III. Direct Instruction (About 15 minutes): This is an instructional approach to learning

driven by the teacher. The purpose is to get information, usually new material, to students
relatively quickly. While this can take various forms, lecture is the most widely recognized. You
will deliver a PowerPoint lecture in this portion of your lesson.
Summary of Lecture:
Lecture will start with identifying key components of the gold rush
- Where and When did the gold rush begin and how long it lasted.
- Who came to California as a result of the gold rush?
- Why did people come to California?
- How did people get to California?
- How did prospectors obtain gold?
- What was the experience of prospectors?
Next, we will identify how the gold rush impacted/changed California.

1. How are you checking for understanding during lecture? Here you want to ensure that
students comprehend the information and are ready to use it.
Summary of strategy/technique:
After several slides we will ask basic questions like, when did the gold rush occur? How did
people get to California? Etc. We will also make sure to pause and allow time after every slide or
every other slide, to give students an opportunity to ask questions for clarification or interest. We
will also, to the best of our abilities, attempt to create an environment were students not only feel
comfortable asking questions, but want to learn more about the subject. If students do ask
questions, we will answer their questions by revisiting material that may have already been
covered or simply answer them to the best of our abilities.

IV. Guided Practice (The Bulk of Time in a Real Class – However, you will explain in
about 5 to 10 minutes): Purpose is to provide students the space to develop a deeper
understanding of the content and to hone critical thinking skills. The teacher provides the
instructions and the resources for an activity and then allows students to work through (often
collaboratively) the content and concepts to make their own. Teacher serves as a facilitator,
providing support when necessary. This should be a student-centered approach to learning. For
your lesson, the activity should be rooted in primary source analysis. (When you deliver your
lesson, you should display the instructions, primary source documents and give specific
examples of what students will be doing).
Summary of Guided Practice:
Students will be assigned into groups to analyze pictures and political cartoons that will be
provided for them. Students will be asked an overarching question and will be provided guiding
questions to steer them in the right direction during their analysis.

- Group 1: How did the gold rush impact the Native American populous?
o Before the gold rush there was large amount of Native Americans living on Californian
land.
o What groups of people are displayed in these images?
o Do you think prospectors respected the Native American's claim to their land? 
o Do you think prospectors got along with Native Americans? 

- Group 2: How did the gold rush the urbanization of California?

o The large amount of people who came to California in search for gold often
traveled for months in extremely difficult conditions. 
o How long do you think these people stayed while searching for gold?
o Where did these people stay during the gold rush?
o Where could someone buy essential goods like pans, pickaxes, boots, and other
supplies?

- Group 3: How did the gold rush impact the natural landscape?
o Finding gold was an extremely laborious task and once it was found by one
person, many others soon followed.
o How big do you think these excavations for gold were?
o Do you think they made permanent changes to the landscape?
o What natural obstacles do you think prospectors encountered while searching for
gold?
 - Group 4: How did the gold rush impact the cultural landscape of California?
o People who came to California not only brought themselves as well as necessary
supplies, but they also brought their cultural beliefs and traditions. 
o Do you think these different groups of people interacted with one another?
o Do you think Californian immigrants stayed or left immediately after "becoming
rich?" 
o What different racial/ethnic groups do you see in these images?

Once students have analyzed the pictures, we will meet again as a class and discuss the analysis
of each group and discuss what key changes/impacts they did not address.

V. Closure (About 3 minutes): Purpose is to highlight new learning for students. Students
should take an active role in this summary. It reinforces the big takeaways for the day and
answers questions like, “So what? Why did we do this? What is this good for?” This is also a
good time to circle back to the essential question(s) for the day.
Summary of strategy/technique for Closure:
Ask the EQ: How did the gold rush change/impact California?
Ex: The gold rush brought more people to California which helped it become a state faster.
Response: Awesome! Great Job! And in what other ways did an increased population change
California?

VI. Independent Practice (About 2 minutes): Purpose is to reinforce content knowledge and
continue to hone skills focused on in day’s lesson. This is done independently. Teacher will
check at the completion of the assignment to assess students’ skill level and understanding.
Sometimes occurs during class if time permits. For your lesson, this will be a homework
assignment.
Summary of Independent Practice:
Students will be assigned a crossword puzzle that asks questions that were directly addressed
during the direct instruction as well as the guided practice. On the day the assignment is due,
there will be a brief discussion about the assignment to address any questions they may have had
when they completed the assignment.

VII. Summative Assessment (Less than 30 seconds): Purpose is to evaluate student

performance of the objectives. Usually performed by students individually with teacher
monitoring integrity.
1. How will the content and the skills be tested at the end of the unit? For this lesson, no
need to create actual assessment, just explain.

Students will be asked to write a short 1 -1 ½ page paper talking specifically about one way
California changed as a result of the gold rush.

VIII. Identify 5 Sources Used to Design Lesson: This can be sources that assisted you in
content mastery and/or lesson plan development. (Use Turabian/Chicago Manual of Style)
PBS. “The California Gold Rush.” The American Experience. Accessed January 25, 2021.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/goldrush-california/.

A Simple History, “The California Gold Rush cartoon 1849 (The Wild West),” September 26,
2016, YouTube video, 2:16. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=iydRkC0gMZI&ab_channel=SimpleHistory

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. "California Gold Rush." Encyclopedia Britannica, May

27, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/topic/California-Gold-Rush.

[Head of Auburn Ravine, 1852]. 1852. Daguerreotype. California State Library: Picture
Catalog. http://catalog.library.ca.gov/F/D6B7RL946Y3GKBF8FHJFD1VM7DMKYVJB
43XKVPMY... (Accessed January 27, 2021).

“The Gold Rush.” Khan Academy. Accessed February 1, 2021.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/the-gilded-age/american-west/a/the-
gold-rush.

Carone, Angela, et al. “California's Gold Rush Lives On At Temecula Valley Museum.” KPBS
Public Media, KPBS, 23 Jan. 2013, www.kpbs.org/news/2013/jan/23/californias-gold-
rush-days-live-temecula-valley-mu/.

History.com Editors. “California Gold Rush.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 6 Apr.
2010, www.history.com/topics/westward-expansion/gold-rush-of-1849.

Nagel, Luis. “California: Departure for the Gold Regions: ‘Gold Is No Chimera!".” Calisphere,
UC Berkeley, Bancroft Library, 1 Jan. 1970,
calisphere.org/item/ark:/13030/tf787010wh/.

Crofutt, George A. American Progress. CA. 1973. Photograph.

https://www.loc.gov/item/97507547/.

“The California Gold Rush.” National Parks Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, 24 Feb.
2020, www.nps.gov/cali/learn/historyculture/california-gold-rush.htm.

Important Note: Depending on your topic, you will either be teaching 8th grade OR 11th
grade history. Be sure your lesson is tailored for the appropriate grade level.