Stage 1 Draft

Unit Topic: By the Great Horn Spoon by: Sid Fleischman
Subject: History Social Studies
Grade: 4th
Time Frame to complete: 1 - 2 months

Stage 1 - Desired Results

Established Goals:

All numerical references are for the History-Social Science Content Standards for California Public Schools.

4.4.2  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.
4.4.3  Discuss immigration and migration to California between 1850 and 1900, including the diverse composition of those who came; the countries of origin and their relative locations; and conflicts and accords among the diverse groups (e.g., the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act).

Transfer

TRANSFER
Students will be able to independently use their learning to . . .

T1  Discuss the impacts the California Gold Rush had on the state of California (the land and the people) and what affects it had on the state in the 1800’s, today, and what will it’s legacy continue to be into the future.

Meaning

UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that . . .

U1  People left their homes and families to make a perilous journey with the overwhelming idea that they could create better lives for them and their families, and then return home to make that better life happen.
U2  The events and people that participated in the California Gold Rush wrote not only their own stories, but changed both the land and people of California forever.


ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Students will keep considering . . .

Q1  Why would people leave their lives behind to seek Gold?
Q2  Was it right for people to go to California and leave their lives behind for a period of time?
Q3  Do you think the Argonauts intended to change California as they did?

Acquisition

KNOWLEDGE
Students will know. . .

K1  When, from where, and in the most general sense why people went to CA for gold
K2  What mining was like, (ie. mining methods) how successful most miners were or were not.
K3  What the conditions were like for miners.
K4  What the outcomes were like for various cross sections of miners.
K5  What happened to miners after the Gold Rush was finished.


SKILL
Students will be skilled at. . .

S1  Working collaboratively to research the facts of the California Gold Rush
S2  Sharing orally, digitally, and in a written form what they have learned.