In 1847 San Francisco had 500 people. By 1850 there were up to 35,000 residents in the City by the Bay. The gold rush was not only changing San Francisco, but all of California as well. Prices soared and people swarmed as America grew westward and a new California emerged.


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Your group are the experts on how the Gold Rush changed California forever. Your job is to research, learn, and share this expertise with your fellow prospectors.

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Digging for Gold...

• Think about what you know
• Research on the Internet
• Analyze new resources
• Write a journal entry
• Create a Gold Rush newspaper

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Think . . .

Use the logbook to record your thoughts about your expert topic.   THINK about...  ï What you know at the start of your journey  ï What you want to know  ï What you have learned by the conclusion of the project

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Research . . .

Click the links below to explore new resources about the gold seekers changed California. Concentrate while navigating the Internet and use the BACK button on the toolbar to return to your expert page. Changes A New San Francisco Impact

Analyze . . .
 

Explore the concepts you discover while browsing the Internet resources on your expert topic. Think critically as you analyze the information and record your answers to the following relevant questions in the logbook.  1. What new technology changed mining forever? Explain what it did. 2.  How did this new technology hurt the environment? 3.  How did the price of land in San Francisco change? Why ? 4.  How many people lived in San Francisco in the 1840s?  5. What impact did the Gold Rush have on California?

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Write . . .
 

Imagine you were living back in the times of Gold Rush Fever. Compose a diary entry describing how your life in California changed since Gold was discovered. Be creative and record your thoughts in the logbook.   Some ideas to consider:   ï What time did you rise in the morning?  ï What was for breakfast (lunch or dinner) and who cooked it?  ï How did you dress? (probably depends on where you worked)  ï Who did you meet during the day?  ï Why did you come out west?  ï Did you always live in California?  ï What did you do for a living?  ï Who was in your family  ï Where did you live?  ï What are your feelings about living during the Gold Rush?

 
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Create . . .

As pioneering journalists your group will design and create your own newspaper which illustrates your area of expertise. Each group member should write at least one article and draw one picture for the paper.
 

Newspaper Elements:  Title  Date/place/cost Lead story (headline) Supporting articles Interesting pictures Table of contents  Weather Obituaries Advertisements Classified (help wanted, or something to buy or sell)

Materials for Design:  Large paper Markers Rulers Crayons Scissors

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