Grade 4 · History
Goal
Explain how the Gold Rush changed California, and who it helped and hurt, using details from the text.
You'll need
Scissors, a glue stick, and crayons.
Help with the hands, not the answer
Add these words to the student's AAC device before the lesson
gold, miner, river, pan, sand, rich, tax, land, fair, mountain, California, Sierra Nevada, Sacramento, Coloma, forty-niner
Words from the check are left out on purpose.
What's in this packet
Standards the check measures
CA Common Core ELA 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.
CA Common Core ELA 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. (See grade 4 Language standards 4–6 for additional expectations.) CA
CA Common Core ELA L.4.2.d: Spell grade-appropriate words correctly, consulting references as needed.
Related, but not fully taught or measured here
CA History-Social Science (grade 4) 4.3.3: 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).
CA History-Social Science (grade 4) 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.
These are California's standards. Outside California, check the code and wording against your state's framework before citing them in an IEP.
Activity answers
Color the answer. What did James Marshall find? Gold. Did most miners get rich? No, most did not.
Who did it?. Miners: Washing sand in pans; Digging by rivers; Camping in tents. Sellers: Selling food; Selling tools; Running a store
What happened?. 1. Marshall finds gold 2. News spreads 3. Miners rush in 4. Towns grow fast
What does it mean?. Forty-niner: came in 1849. Miner: looks for gold. Pan: washes sand away. Tax: money for the government
Where did it happen?. Upper left: Sacramento. Lower left: Pacific Ocean. Upper right: Coloma. Lower right: Sierra Nevada
Spell the word. GOLD
In January 1848, James Marshall found gold at a sawmill in Coloma, California. News spread quickly, and people rushed to California from around the world. Those who came in 1849 were called forty-niners.
Miners looked for gold in the rivers of the Sierra Nevada mountains. They used pans to wash sand away and leave the gold behind. Most miners did not get rich, but some people made money selling them food and tools.
Towns like Sacramento grew fast, but the Gold Rush hurt many people. California made some miners from other countries pay a special tax, and miners took Native people's land. Many California Indians were killed or died from hunger and disease.
Color the right box.
What did James Marshall find?
Did most miners get rich?
Sort the cards.
Miners
Sellers
Cut out along the dashed lines
Put them in order.
Cut out along the dashed lines
Match each one.
Cut out along the dashed lines
Label the map.
Cut out along the dashed lines
Spell this word.
Cut out along the dashed lines
How the student chose answers (mark one)
Independent, adult could not see
Independent, adult could see
With touch, a held device, or cues
Mark the last one if anyone touched the student, held anything for them, or cued them while they chose. Help with cutting or gluing after they chose doesn't count as support, but an adult who saw the choice means "adult could see."
Help after the student chose
Results
Date ____________ Check run by (role) ____________________
| Item | Standard | Student's answer | Right? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RI.4.3 | ||
| 2 | RI.4.3 | ||
| 3 | RI.4.4 | ||
| 4 | RI.4.4 | ||
| 5 | L.4.2.d | ||
| 6 | L.4.2.d |
Each question with four choices can be guessed right 1 time in 4. These 6 items are too few to conclude from alone. The on-screen report waits for 20 items at a level.
San Francisco was a small town when gold was found. Soon, ships full of people filled its harbor. Many crews left their ships to look for gold. Empty ships sat in the water with no one to sail them. People turned some of the ships into stores and hotels. Today, parts of old ships are still buried under the city.
Choose your answer, then color its box.
Why were so many ships left empty?
What did people do with some empty ships?
Choose your answer, then color its box.
In this text, what does crews mean?
In this text, what does harbor mean?
Spell the word for a building where travelers sleep. Choose each letter. Glue them on the strips.
Cut out along the dashed lines
Spell the word for a large boat. Choose each letter. Glue them on the strips.
Cut out along the dashed lines
Keep this away from the check, and use it only for scoring afterward.
| Item | Standard | Question | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | RI.4.3 | Why were so many ships left empty? | Crews left to look for gold |
| 2 | RI.4.3 | What did people do with some empty ships? | Turned them into stores |
| 3 | RI.4.4 | In this text, what does crews mean? | People who work on a ship |
| 4 | RI.4.4 | In this text, what does harbor mean? | Calm water where ships stay |
| 5 | L.4.2.d | Spell the word for a building where travelers sleep. | HOTEL |
| 6 | L.4.2.d | Spell the word for a large boat. | SHIP |