Level Q: Non-Fiction Name _____________

Date _____________

Gold Fever!
By David Harstad

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is Gold?
3. Klondike Gold Rush
4. Boom Town
5. Ghost Town

Introduction
Do you like getting dirty? Do you like small metal that
glitters? Do you dream of riches? Then you may have Gold
Fever! Gold Fever starts with the discovery of gold, and the
exciting news quickly travels. In 1848, a few gold nuggets were
found in California. The news of gold caused 300,000 people to
travel by sea and trails to California. Most gold seekers did not
find much gold. They were lucky if they broke even after their
expenses.
What is Gold?
Gold is a metal created by nature long ago. Experts think
large star explosions brought gold to Earth when it was young. It
comes in flakes, grains, and nuggets. It is found mostly
underground, but it can wash to the surface by water. There is about
15,000 tons of gold in the ocean. However, the gold is very small. It would be too expensive to
mine. All the gold ever mined in the world would fit into three Olympic-size swimming pools.
Gold is rare, so that makes it valuable. It has a shiny yellow color. It is soft and malleable.
Gold also does not rust or decay. One gram of gold can be pounded into a one-meter square.
It can also be pounded into semi-clear sheets. Gold can even be drawn to make sewing thread.
These traits have led to its use in jewelry and art. Half of all the gold today is used for jewelry.
The earliest collection of flakes were found in a human cave
from 42,000 years ago. The United States stores its gold at Fort Knox.
The secret fort holds the gold in a vault underground. The price of gold
changes a little each day. It is now about $1,600 per ounce (weight of
a pencil).

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 24-carat gold is 99.99% pure gold. Other gold purities include 22 carat (92%) and 18
carat (75%). An Olympic gold medal is only 1.3% gold. Gold medals contain 550 grams of silver
and only 6 grams of gold. An Olympic gold medal is worth $500.

Klondike Gold Rush

The Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899) started when gold was

discovered in 1896. The goldfields were in Yukon, Canada. This
remote region was a long distance from any big town. However,
100,000 miners left to search for gold anyway. They boarded ships
from Seattle and San Francisco. The
ships reached Alaska and miners had to hike over the
mountains into Canada. The border guards in Canada made
the miners carry a year’s worth of food with them. This would
keep miners from starving and stealing from each other. Their
destination was Dawson City. A boom town was soon created.

Boom Town

A boom town is a place that rapidly grows in population. In the Klondike, Dawson City
grew from 500 people to 30,000 in just two years. Boom towns start with the discovery of things
like gold, silver, or oil. As miners quickly arrive, houses must be built. Then come needed
supplies. Food, animals, banks, and hotels soon follow. All of these need skilled workers. The
town keeps building rapidly as long as the money keeps flowing. At some point, a peak is
reached when miners find less gold. They will now buy less food and shop for fewer supplies.
Stores start to close; people move away. Soon, a ghost town may develop.

Ghost Town
A ghost town is an abandoned town. It can happen
quickly as people leave to start a new life elsewhere. The effects
are visibly abandoned roads, buildings, and equipment. Over
time, rust, weeds, and a few people are all that remain.
Dawson City suffered from fires, high prices, and disease. A few miners became wealthy,
but many left disappointed. The population in Dawson City during
the Gold Rush was 40,000. The population is now 1,400. Today,
the mystique of the Gold Rush makes Dawson City a popular
summer attraction. Visitors bring their tourist dollars and cameras
to relive the Klondike
Glossary Gold Rush.

destination – journey’s end. So where did the miners go when the Klondike
malleable – soft, flexible, bendy. Gold Rush ended? Newspapers reported that gold was
mystique – charm, magic found in nearby Nome, Alaska. The miners were off, for
remote – isolated area. they had gold fever!

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ASSESSMENT Name _____________
Level Q: Non-Fiction Date _____________

Flesch-Kincaid Level
Grade 4
Gold Fever!
By David Harstad

Introduction
Do you like getting dirty? Do you like small metal that glitters? Do you dream of riches? Then
you may have Gold Fever! Gold Fever starts with the discovery of gold, and the exciting news
quickly travels. In 1848, a few gold nuggets were found in California. The news of gold caused
300,000 people to travel by sea and trails to California. Most gold seekers did not find much gold.
They were lucky if they broke even after their expenses.
What is Gold?
Gold is a metal created by nature long ago. Experts think large star explosions brought gold
to Earth when it was young. It comes in flakes, grains, and nuggets. It is found mostly underground,
but it can wash to the surface by water. There is about 15,000 tons of gold in the ocean. However,
the gold is very small. It would be too expensive to mine. All the gold ever mined in the world would
fit into three Olympic-size swimming pools.
Gold is rare, so that makes it valuable. It has a shiny yellow color. It is soft and malleable.
Gold also does not rust or decay. One gram of gold can be pounded into a one-meter square. It
can also be pounded into semi-clear sheets. Gold can even be drawn to make sewing thread.
These traits have led to its use in jewelry and art. Half of all the gold today is used for jewelry.
The earliest collection of flakes were found in a human cave from 42,000 years ago. The
United States stores its gold at Fort Knox. The secret fort holds the gold in a vault underground.
The price of gold changes a little each day. It is now about $1,600 per ounce (weight of a pencil).
24-carat gold is 99.99% pure gold. Other gold purities include 22 carat (92%) and 18 carat
(75%). An Olympic gold medal is only 1.3% gold. Gold medals contain 550 grams of silver and only
6 grams of gold. An Olympic gold medal is worth $500.

Klondike Gold Rush

The Klondike Gold Rush (1896-1899) started when gold was discovered in 1896. The
goldfields were in Yukon, Canada. This remote region was a long distance from any big town.
However, 100,000 miners left to search for gold anyway. They boarded ships from Seattle and San
Francisco. The ships reached Alaska and miners had to hike over the mountains into Canada. The
border guards in Canada made the miners carry a year’s worth of food with them. This would keep
miners from starving and stealing from each other. Their destination was Dawson City. A boom
town was soon created.

Boom Town

A boom town is a place that rapidly grows in population. In the Klondike, Dawson City grew
from 500 people to 30,000 in just two years. Boom towns start with the discovery of things like gold,
silver, or oil. As miners quickly arrive, houses must be built. Then come needed supplies. Food,
animals, banks, and hotels soon follow. All of these need skilled workers. The town keeps building
TpT - ©The Harstad Collection
 rapidly as long as the money keeps flowing. At some point, a peak is reached when miners find
less gold. They will now buy less food and shop for fewer supplies. Stores start to close; people
move away. Soon, a ghost town may develop.

Ghost Town
A ghost town is an abandoned town. It can happen quickly as people leave to start a new
life elsewhere. The effects are visibly abandoned roads, buildings, and equipment. Over time,
rust, weeds, and a few people are all that remain.
Dawson City suffered from fires, high prices, and disease. A few miners became wealthy,
but many left disappointed. The population in Dawson City during the Gold Rush was 40,000. The
population is now 1,400. Today, the mystique of the Gold Rush makes Dawson City a popular
summer attraction. Visitors bring their tourist dollars and cameras to relive the Klondike Gold Rush.
So where did the miners go when the Klondike Gold Rush ended? Newspapers reported
that gold was found in nearby Nome, Alaska. The miners were off, for they had gold fever!

• Directions: Introduce Question 1, start timer, circle errors, and complete scorecard.

Reading
Time Errors Teacher Opinion

1st Read Date: 691 words 5 4 3 2 1 0

2nd Read Date: 691 words 5 4 3 2 1 0

Notes:

Questions Teacher Opinion Teacher Opinion

1st Read 2nd Read
1. What do the images predict? (predict) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0

2. What did you learn about gold? (summary) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0

3. Have you ever seen gold jewelry? (connection) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
4. Why do people value gold? (synthesize) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
5. What causes people to join a gold rush? (analyze) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
6. How would you start gold mining? (infer) 5 4 3 2 1 0 5 4 3 2 1 0
Overall Reading & Comprehension
Total _____ Total _____
Excellent Good Average Limited

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