4th Grade California Gold Rush Project
Unit Overview
Subjects: Library/Information Science and History-Social Science
Grade/Level: 4
Time Required: One 50-minute period per day for 5 days
Objective: Students will be able to understand and discuss the social, economic,
geographic, and other factors that influenced the California Gold Rush. This unit will be
taught in fourth grade to align with the fourth grade content standards of California
history. Each student will research the Gold Rush using books and electronic resources
available in the school library, with support from both the teacher librarian and the
classroom teacher, to learn information literacy skills.
Summary: Students will learn skills for selecting information both in print and online.
Working in small groups of three, the students will then create the front page of a Gold
Rush era newspaper with important headlines about the events of the time. Finally, each
group will present their newspaper poster to the class.
Implementation of Unit
Learning Activities:
Day 1
Students will be introduced to the California Gold Rush project. They will be placed in
small groups of three students. Each group will be assigned five events and people from
the Gold Rush era to research for their newspaper.
Day 2
Students will go to the school library with their classroom teacher. The teacher librarian
will assist students as they conduct research both with the library’s print holdings and
online. Students will be given posters and supplies to begin constructing their
newspaper posters. Students will have access to paper, glue, markers, colored pencils,
and the ability to print from the library computers.
Day 3
Students will continue their research in the library. The classroom teacher and the
teacher librarian will circulate throughout the school library assisting students as they
conduct their research. Students continue constructing their newspaper posters.
Day 4
The classroom teacher and the teacher librarian will again review the requirements of
the California Gold Rush project and check in with individual student groups before the
student groups finish the construction of the front page posters of their newspapers.
Day 5
Student groups will present their California Gold Rush front page newspaper posters to
the class with brief oral presentations about 3 minutes long. After each presentation,
students will be allowed to ask each group questions. Presenting students will answer
questions. After all the presentations are complete, students will complete a brief
worksheet about their research experiences in the school library. They will describe
what they learned about conducting research, both through print and online resources.
Materials and resources:
 Books and computers contained in the school's library, along with the San
Francisco Unified School District supplied search engine Nettrekker
 The front page of the San Francisco Chronicle as an example of a newspaper
 Poster paper, construction paper, markers, scissors, glue, and computer printer
 Assignment sheet passed out on Day 1
 Assessment worksheet passed out on Day 5
Standards addressed by unit:
California K-12 Academic Content Standards
• Subject: History-Social Science
• Grade: 4
• Area: California—A Changing State
Students learn the story of their home state, unique in American history in terms of its
vast and varied geography, its many waves of immigration beginning with preColumbian societies, its continuous diversity, economic energy, and rapid growth. In
addition to the specific treatment of milestones in California history, students examine
the state in the context of the rest of the nation, with an emphasis on the U.S.
Constitution and the relationship between state and federal government.
Standard 4.3: Students explain the economic, social, and political life in California
from the establishment of the Bear Flag Republic through the Mexican-American War,
the Gold Rush, and the granting of statehood.
3. 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).
Assessment Plan:
Students will be assessed according to their adherence to the requirements laid out in
the assignment sheet for the project.
These requirements include: finding appropriate resources in the library, using both
print and online resources, researching all five subjects assigned by the teacher,
creativity in constructing their front page newspaper posters, cooperation with the other
group members, presenting their poster to the whole class, and self-assessment at the
completion of the project.
Students will be assessed in these seven areas through a rubric completed
collaboratively by both the classroom teacher and the teacher librarian.