Historians learn about the past by looking at primary sources from the era. Artifacts of the time, official records, books, and letters penned by the folks who lived during the Gold Rush are all considered primary sources and reliable documents of frontier life. 


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Your group are the experts on primary sources of the Gold Rush. 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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Digging

Research . . .

Click the links below to explore the primary sources during this rush for gold in California. Concentrate while navigating the Internet and use the BACK button on the toolbar to return to your expert page. About Diary Authors  In Their Own Words and Photos

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. Why would someone keep a diary or journal?  2. How do you think a husband and wife felt by being separated?  3. Is this writing different from what you might read today? Why?  4. How did the photographs help you better understand the journal entries?  5. Why would historians be interested in journals?

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Write . . .
 

Imagine you were living back in the times of Gold Rush Fever. Compose a diary entry from a day in the life of a forty-niner. 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 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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Digging