Colorado Gold

Grade Level/ Subject:

Grade 4/Social Studies

Focus:

Through historic newspapers, students will learn about the output of gold, the methods of mining, the dangers of mining, and value of gold in the late 1800's/early 1900's in Colorado.

Time:

The lesson will take place over a two-week period. The initial background information in the social studies text will take approximately a week. The newspaper presentation will take approximately 30 minutes and the investigation with response on each paper will take about 45 minutes, when students are independently working.

Standards Assessed:

History 2: Students know how to use the processes and resources of historical inquiry. 2.2: Students know how to formulate questions and hypotheses regarding what happened in the past and to obtain and analyze historical data to answer questions and test hypotheses.

Reading and Writing 1: Students read and understand a variety of materials.

Information Literacy Standard 3: The information literate student uses information accurately and creatively.

Assessment:

Students will answer questions using information from the articles they have read. Students will complete several short answer creative writing assignments based on life during the gold rush.

Standards Addressed:
History 1-Students understand the chronological organization of history and know how to organize events and people into major eras to identify and explain historical relationships.
History 3- Students understand that societies are diverse and have changed over time.

Materials/Teacher Preparation:

• Access to computer and the Internet (unless you will be providing articles).
• Social studies text: A Rendezvous with Colorado History, chapter 9, to give background on the gold rush that involved Colorado (or similar textbook).
• Worksheet packet for each student.

Possible Procedures:

Background

1. Ask each student to come up with and write three questions that they have about mining or life during that time period. As a class create a list of these some of questions.
   
   
2. Where possible, formulate hypotheses to answer the questions.

Historic Newspaper Lesson

1. Show students with a smart board or computer projected on a screen, how to access Colorado's Historic Newsaper Collection.
   
   
2. Describe that they will be searching for and reading certain articles about gold mining. (Alternatively, print out the articles for them.)
   
   
3. Hand out the worksheet packet.
   
   
4. Have the students follow the instructions to access the article of interest. Students read the articles and complete the worksheet that goes with that particular article. These articles are:
   Mines and Mining: Iowa Tiger Makes Rich Gold Strike page 1, "Silverton Standard" (Silverton, San Juan County) July. 16, 1910
   World's Largest Placer Mines, page 1, "Summit County Journal" (Breckenridge, Summit County) Nov. 23, 1901
   Mine Tragedy at Silverton, page 7, "Littleton Independent" (Littleton, Arapahoe County) June12, 1908
   Cripple Creek Challenges the World page 3, "Morning Times" (Cripple Creek, El Paso County), Dec. 31, 1899
   
   
5. Use ample class time for students to work on the creative writing assignments. Alternatively send these home as homework.
   
   
6. As a class, discuss the questions the students had about mining and the hypotheses the class formulated. Did the newspaper articles help answer any of the questions and/or help them determine if their hypotheses were accurate?
   
   
7. Discuss that some of the questions could not be answered and hypotheses could not be validated by the articles. Brainstorm other sources of information could be used to answer questions and determine if the hypotheses are accurate. If you have time, do the follow-up research.
   
   
8. Use the worksheets and the discussion to assess the students.
   
   

-Barbara Voget, Mountain View Elementary School, Colorado Springs