SocialStudiesandMath:TheGoldRush

Author:KimberlyHarris
Datecreated:03/31/20157:26PMEDTDatemodified:04/20/201511:20PMEDT

VITALINFORMATION
TotalNumberofStudents

Thereare28studentscurrentlyinthisclass.

Area(s)StudentsLiveIn

Thestudentsliveinasuburbanneighborhood.

Free/ReducedLunch

Approximately60%ofthestudentsatthisschoolreceivefreeorreducedlunch.

EthnicityofStudents

Thereare8Whitestudents.
Thereare3AfricanAmerican/Blackstudents.
Thereare4Asian/PacificIslanderstudents.
Thereare13Hispanic/Latinostudents.

EnglishLanguageLearners

Thereare9EnglishLanguageLearnersandtheyareallproficientoradvanced.

StudentswithSpecialNeeds

Thereis1studentwithanIEP,2attendlearningcenterand2areGATEqualified.

Subject(s)

Mathematics,SocialStudies

TopicorUnitofStudy

ThislessonisaboutthediscoveryofgoldinCalifornia.

Grade/Level

Grade4

Comments

KEYCONCEPTS&STANDARDS
BigIdea&Essential
Questions

WhatwaslifelikeduringtheGoldRush?
Whydidn'tmanypeoplebecomerichfromtheGoldRush?
Whatweightofgoldwasneededtosurviveduringthegoldrush?
Howmuchdoesonegoldnuggetweigh?

LearningOutcome(s)

ThestudentswilllearnwhatitwasliketosearchforgoldintheGoldRush.Theywillalsounderstandhowdifficultitwas
tosurviveoffoftheamountofgoldtheywereabletofind.Thestudentwillalsoweighthegoldnuggetstheyhave
foundinouncesandgrams.

Summary

Thelessonwillbeginwithverylittleinstruction.TheoverallgoalofthelessonisforstudentstoexperiencetheGold
Rush.Thestudentswillhaveopportunitiestosearchforgoldnuggetsthroughouttheclassroom.Inbetweenroundsof
searching,studentswillhavetheopportunitytobuyandselltheirpossessions.Theywillalsohavetobuyessentials
suchasfood.Thepriceswillbedisplayedintermsofmoneyandstudentsmustdeterminehowmanypiecesofgoldwill
weighenoughtoequalthecorrectvalue.

Standards

CACaliforniaCommonCoreStateStandards(2012)
Subject:Mathematics
Grade:Grade4
Domain:MeasurementandData4.MD
Area:Solveproblemsinvolvingmeasurementandconversionofmeasurementsfromalargerunittoasmallerunit.
Standard:
1.Knowrelativesizesofmeasurementunitswithinonesystemofunitsincludingkm,m,cmkg,glb,oz.l,ml
hr,min,sec.Withinasinglesystemofmeasurement,expressmeasurementsinalargerunitintermsofasmaller
unit.Recordmeasurementequivalentsinatwocolumntable.Forexample,knowthat1ftis12timesaslongas1
in.Expressthelengthofa4ftsnakeas48in.Generateaconversiontableforfeetandincheslistingthenumber
pairs(1,12),(2,24),(3,36),...

CACaliforniaK12AcademicContentStandards
Subject:History&SocialScience
Grade:GradeFour
Area:California:AChangingStateStudentslearnthestoryoftheirhomestate,uniqueinAmericanhistoryintermsofits
vastandvariedgeography,itsmanywavesofimmigrationbeginningwithpreColumbiansocieties,itscontinuous
diversity,economicenergy,andrapidgrowth.InadditiontothespecifictreatmentofmilestonesinCaliforniahistory,
studentsexaminethestateinthecontextoftherestofthenation,withanemphasisontheU.S.Constitutionandthe
relationshipbetweenstateandfederalgovernment.
SubStrand4.3:Studentsexplaintheeconomic,social,andpoliticallifeinCaliforniafromtheestablishmentofthe

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BearFlagRepublicthroughtheMexicanAmericanWar,theGoldRush,andthegrantingofstatehood.
Standard3:AnalyzetheeffectsoftheGoldRushonsettlements,dailylife,politics,andthephysical
environment(e.g.,usingbiographiesofJohnSutter,MarianoGuadalupeVallejo,LouiseClapp).

Comments

ASSESSMENTS
Assessment/Rubrics

Iwilluseaformativeassessmentduringthislesson.Iwilluseourdiscussionsfollowingtheactivitytobasetheir
learningupon.Iwillalsoassessthestudentsmathematicalcompetenciesontheirabilitytocorrectlyweighthegoldand
useitasmoney.

Comments

MATERIALSANDRESOURCES
InstructionalMaterials&
Technology(handouts,etc.)

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Goldnuggest
Balancescale
Metricweights
Customaryweights
Whitteboard
Markers
Namesticks
Datasheets

Comments

IMPLEMENTATION
SequenceofActivities

Duringaperiodwhenthestudentsarenotintheclassroom,"gold"willbehiddenaroundtheroom.Approximately60
piecesofgoldisneeded.Nuggetcandyoranygoldfoilwrappedcandyworkwell.Thelessonwilltakeplaceuponthe
studentsarrivalbacktotheclassroom.
1. StudentswillbetoldtheyaregoingtobeapartoftheGoldRush.
2. Studentswillsitintheirdesksandonenameisdrawnfromthesticks.
3. Thefirststudentwillbegivenoneminutetofindasmuchgoldaroundtheclassroomaspossible.Studentsintheir
seatmustsitsilentlyduringthistime.
4. Afteroneminuteisupthestudentwillweightheirgoldusingabalancescaleaswellasgramsandounces.The
willrecordtheirgoldonthewhiteboard.
5. Theywillnowbeinformedthattheymustbuyfoodandsuppliesandtheyalsohavetheopportunitytopay
workerstosearchforgoldforthem.Theworkersmustbepaidregardlessoftheirsuccessfindinggold.Students
mayalsopaytheteacherforcluestomoregold.TheGoldwillbepricedat$2perouncetoaccountfortheweight
ofthecandy.
6. Next,sixmorenameswillbedrawnandallsevenstudentswillhaveanopportunitytosearchforgoldforone
minute.
7. Afteroneminuteisupthestudentswillweightheirgoldusingabalancescaleaswellasgramsandounces.The
willrecordtheirgoldonthewhiteboard.
8. Theywillnowbeinformedthattheymustbuyfoodandsuppliesandtheyalsohavetheopportunitytopay
workerstosearchforgoldforthem.Theworkersmustbepaidregardlessoftheirsuccessfindinggold.Students
mayalsopaytheteacherforcluestomoregold.
9. Finally,theentireclasswillhavetheopportunitytosearchforanyremaininggold.
10. Thestudentswhohavefoundgoldmustnowallweightheirgold.Theywillusethisdatatodeterminetherange
ofgoldfoundfromthefirstpersontothelastgroup.
11. Next,theywillallrecordthefinaltotalsanddetermineifitwaswisetopurchasehelpornotandwhattheywould
havedonedifferently.Thestudentswillalsousethisdatatodeterminetherange.
12. Anystudentswillgoldwillbeallowedtokeepit.Thestudentswhodidnotfindgoldwillnotbegivenany.This
experiencewillgivethestudentsarealisticideaoftheGoldRushandthedisappointmentofmanypeoplewhodid
notfindgold.

GroupingStrategies

Thestudentswillbegroupedasawholeclassandindividually.

DifferentiatedInstruction

Iwillallowstudentstousetheirnotesfrompreviousmathlessonsaswellastheanchorchartsplacedaroundtheroom.

Comments

REFLECTIONS
PriortoLesson
PostLesson
Comments

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