CCCS H-SS 4.3.C: Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment  (e.g. using biographies of John Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp).

CCCS H-SS 4.4.B: Explain how the Gold Rush transformed the economy of California, including the types of products produced and consumed, changes in towns (e.g.Sacramento, San Francisco), and economic conflicts between diverse groups of people.              
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.2: Determine the main idea of a text and explain how it is supported by key details; summarize the text.                           
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what  happened and why, based on specific information in the text.                                             
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4: Determine the meaning of general academic                      and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.                                   
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1: Engage effectively in a range of   collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with  diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly.                                                        CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.a: Come to discussions prepared having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.6:  Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

B. List the Key Disciplines my plan will address: History-Social Science, English Language Arts, Reading Comprehension Skills, and Vocabulary Development.   

 C. List the Historical and Social Science Analysis Skills and 21^st Century skills my plan will address are research, evidence, point of view, collaboration, chronological and spatial thinking, and historical interpretation.  

D. List the Key Social Studies Concepts your plan will             address:
1)  Import & Export    
2) Product
3) Discrimination
4) Entrepreneur

E. State the estimated number of class periods: 8-10 

B. Overarching Question: Create a compelling question that stems from your social studies standard and sub-standard(s), and that will guide exploration of the content and concepts throughout your unit.

  How did the discovery of gold affect California? 

 
C.Inquiry Question:  Create a narrower question that stems from your overarching question, and that requires students to take a stance or provide an explanation.  This question should be interesting and meaningful, and should provoke an evidence-based opinion or explanation regarding social studies phenomena.    

How did the Gold Rush change California’s economy? 

 
D. Supporting Questions:  Provide 2-5 questions that will support students in addressing the Inquiry Question.  

Why was it called the Gold Rush? What effect did the Gold Rush have on cities in California? How would you describe the life of a miner? What kinds of jobs were created as a result of the Gold Rush? What problems made life hard for groups of people who came here from other countries? 

 

E. History-social science content:  Provide a summary of the historical background or history-social science content relevant to the unit.

Students will need to access their prior knowledge of CA economy before 1850 such as what crops did early settlers grow and what items did they sell. They will also be able to add the gold rush as another reason the population of CA grew to what they already knew from previous lessons. 
The students will learn about the discovery of gold at Sutter’s fort by James Marshall next to the American River. They will also learn about how people from all over came to find gold for themselves. Sam Brannan, an entrepreneur, bought mining tools to sell which brought more people to the river. California’s population boom hit the cities of Sacramento, Stockton, and San Francisco. The students will also learn about the Forty-Niners and what their life looked like as they searched for gold. Also, they will learn about the changes in CA government and economy because of the Gold Rush, the growth of towns and cities, and the high demand of farming goods after the Gold Rush. 

                        

 

In the lesson, the students will participate in a read aloud of several passages about the Gold Rush and how it affected California’s history and economy. There will be questions given to the students to answer using text evidence. They will get a chance to share in partners what they think the main idea of the text is and explain their reasoning. 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.3: Explain events, procedures, ideas, or                                     concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text, including what                          happened and why, based on specific information in the text.

The students will have a worksheet with questions to answer based off the text. There will be statements and the student will have to put a check on the chart whether it is a fact or an opinion. They will also have to analyze why California was a good place for merchants during the Gold Rush. They have to come to their own conclusion to answer the question. 

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic    or subject area.

While reading the passages, the students will be directed to circle any unknown words they may need defined. We will also create a T chart with the words and their definition in their Language Arts journal for quick reference. The students will also have to use it in a sentence to express comprehension.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1: Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly. 

The students will participate in an activity where each of them will have an Identity card that has a brief explanation about an individual living and working in a California town during the Gold Rush. Each student will take turns rolling a dice to see how the Gold Rush affected their town. If they roll a 1 or 4, the individual’s town grows rapidly; a 2 or 5, the town is stable; a 3 or a 6, the town becomes a ghost town. They will interact with each other based off what number they roll. The students will then have to write from the perspective of the individual they pulled and describe how the Gold Rush affected his or her life. 

           
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.4.1.a: Come to discussions prepared having read or studied required material; explicitly draw on that preparation and other information known about the topic to explore ideas under discussion. 

Throughout the lesson, the students will have discussions about what they are reading in the text and how they think it would’ve been like to live back in those days. Each day we will build on their knowledge until they comprehend the Gold Rush and its effect on California.


CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.4.6:  Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and the information provided.

In the lesson, the students will be reading text from their history book but also several excerpts from primary sources about the Gold Rush. Some of the excerpts come from The Shirley Letters from the California Mines, The Diary of Johann August Sutter, and Sixteen Months at the Gold Diggings. The students will have to compare and contrast the point of views of these different excerpts in their Language Arts journal. 

B. List specific standards from the California English Language Development Standards.  Describe how these standards will be addressed in your unit.

ELDP1.A.1: Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative discussions on a range of social and academic topics. 

Students will participate in daily discussions during the unit to build on their knowledge of the Gold Rush and practice using the corresponding academic language. 

ELDP1.C.11: Supporting own opinions and evaluating others’ opinions in speaking and writing. 

While having discussions and time to talk with their elbow partner, they will have to learn to value other opinions that may differ from their own and how to correctly respond to them. They will also need to back up their opinion with text evidence.

C. List one or more California State Standards in the Visual and Performing Arts.  Describe how these standards will be addressed in your unit.

Theatre 1.2 Identify a character’s objectives and motivations to explain that character’s behavior. 

Theatre 2.1 Demonstrate the emotional traits of a character through gesture and action.

The students will have to act out their character from their Identity Card and be able to explain why they chose to portray their character that way. They will need to understand their character’s motives and objectives in order to accurately be their character. 

The students in my classroom come from diverse cultural backgrounds ranging from Caucasian, Hispanic and African American. They will be exposed to various pictures to show how diverse the gold miners were who came to the American River. This will lead to the class talking about how this played a part in how diverse California is today. I would also read to them different perspectives of the gold miners to reflect that not everyone had experienced the Gold Rush the same way. 

Starkweather, Joseph B., “Spanish Flat, 1852,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/5c95a64ae569a2071d1bdf5a308f9ac7. 

C. Introducing the Inquiry

1. The teacher will model a T chart for the students to put in their Language Arts journals and they will write down any words they don’t understand on one side and on the other side, they will write a definition and a sentence using the word. This will help to build their academic language when talking about the Gold Rush and when they answer the inquiry question. 

2. The teacher and the students will read excerpts from three different sources and fill out a graphic organizer about what happened to Louise Clapp,   Daniel Woods, and John Sutter during the Gold Rush. They will also answer what it tells you about how the Gold Rush affected settlements, daily life, politics and the environment.

3. The students will have 3 statements and the student will have to check   whether it’s a fact or an opinion. They will also have to give an example of discrimination that occurred after the Gold Rush and analyze why California was a good place for merchants during the Gold Rush. This will work as a progress check to see how they comprehend the lesson and if there is a need to go over some of the topic again.

           
D. Conducting the Inquiry:

Source 1 – Analysis and Drawing Evidence: 

Students will read an introductory lesson about the Gold Rush and the life of the Forty-Niners. Students will discuss the passage and discuss how this changed California’s economy. Students will each have their own copy of the article in their history books. Students will close read the text to find the main idea. Students will highlight what they think the article is about and restate the main idea in their own words.

Source 2– Analysis and Drawing Evidence: 

Students will analyze this picture of the gold regions in California and how the Gold Rush affected the economy of California. They will discuss with their partner about making connections with the reading and the map to answer how the Gold Rush affected California. 

Prompting Questions: What do you notice on the map? What stands out to you? How do you think the Gold Rush affected the settlement of towns and nearby businesses? 

 Source 3– Analysis and Drawing Evidence: 

Students will analyze this picture of miners and how the Gold Rush affected the diversity of the state. They discuss with their partner what they notice or stands out to them in the picture. 

Prompting Questions: What do you notice? What do you think the purpose for this map was? How do you think California’s diversity would be different today the Gold Rush hadn’t happened? 

 

Instructions: Think about all the things we have learned about the Gold Rush. For this project we are going to do, you are picking one of those things. It can be anything you want; the mining tools, what their towns looked like, how did the miners live, etc. You’re going to draw it on a 6” by 6” piece of paper. Then after you are done drawing, you will create a frame out of Popsicle sticks and gold stones. You will color the sticks yellow before gluing the stones to them. After, you will write an explanation of your picture on an index card. Answer the question: how does your picture connect to the Gold Rush? Then when we put them up on the wall we will add the index card under your picture. 

2.) Activity 4 will be assessed. After reading several accounts the students will have to compare the fictional story with the real accounts. How were they different from each other? Then they have to make a connection with their real life experience. I will be looking for their knowledge of the firsthand accounts and how they can make connections with the story read to them. Also I will be seeing if they are using academic language in their reasoning. 

3.) Activity 5 will be assessed. This will work as a progress check to see how they comprehend the lesson and if there is a need to go over some of the topic again. The students will be given an allotted time before they have to turn it in. I will be checking for comprehension of the Gold Rush and how it affected California’s economy. 

4.) Written response to Inquiry Question. Learning will be assessed through the student’s written responses.  The written response will demonstrate the students’ knowledge of the Gold Rush and how it affected CA and its economy. Students will be assessed on their ability to state their opinion and provide evidence to support it. I will know if students are successful by their ability to state the effects and use text evidence to support it. Students will also be assessed on their knowledge of the Gold Rush concepts and their use of academic language. 

Starkweather, Joseph B., “Spanish Flat, 1852,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/5c95a64ae569a2071d1bdf5a308f9ac7.

Our California: History - social science for California (Unit 4). (2006). Glenview, IL: Pearson Education. 

Starkweather, Joseph B., “Spanish Flat, 1852,” Digital Public Library of America, https://dp.la/item/5c95a64ae569a2071d1bdf5a308f9ac7.