MONTANA GOLD MINING LESSON PLANS May 2014

TEACHER: Greg Lee

DATE: 4/22/14
UNIT OF STUDY: Montana Gold Mining & Ghost Towns
SUBJECT AREA/COURSE/GRADE LEVEL: Social Studies/History/Science/Math
Objective: Students will have a clear understanding of what it was like in Bannack during the gold rush era. They will
understand the hardships that were faced in living and mining for gold in the west during the 1800s as well as the
illegal activities.
STANDARDS:
Content Standard 1-Students access, synthesize, and evaluate information to communicate and apply social studies
knowledge to real world situations.
Content Standard 2-Students analyze how people create and change structures of power, authority, and governance to
understand the operation of government and to demonstrate civic responsibility.
Content Standard 3-Students apply geographic knowledge and skills (e.g., location, place, human/environment
interactions, movement, and regions).
Content Standard 4-Students demonstrate an understanding of the efects of time, continuity, and change on historical
and future perspectives and relationships.
Content Standard 5-Students make informed decisions based on an understanding of the economic principles of
production, distribution, exchange, and consumption.
Content Standard 6-Students demonstrate an understanding of the impact of human interaction and cultural diversity
on societies. Social Studies
Material:
6 x 9 envelopes to hold the money, mining deeds, and cards during exercise. Break students up in groups of 4.
3 x 5 Bannack, Montana cards that are given out during the gold mining of unforeseen situations causing
difficult financial decisions.
4 x 5.5 Mining Deeds.
Fake money ($1, $5, $10, $20, $100 bills to be placed in each families envelope.)
5 gallon bucket.
20 pound of bird seed (You will keep this through the years.)
5 pounds of sun flower seeds.
100 gold Native American glass beads(NAGB)-100 silver (NAGB)- 100 blue (NAGB).
Paper plates marker: Gold, Silver, Copper, Coal.
8 x 11 sign showing the worth of the precious metals students are mining.
Introduction:
Review about Bannacks history as a gold town and discuss how the mining process took place. Miners had to purchase
a mining deed. If they missed three days of mining on their claim then it was lost except for sickness. Discuss in detail
some of the difficulties people encountered getting to Bannack and trying to strike it rich. Show students the sign about
the price of the precious metals. Also talk about what real gold is worth in todays standards.
Hand out envelopes to each table and had one of the students at the table read aloud their history of their family.
Explain to students that if you run out of money then you will need to cash in your precious metals. If you still do
not have enough money you will loose your mining deed and you will go bankrupted.
After handing out envelopes put labeled paper plates onto each table. 1 for gold, 1 for silver, 1 for copper, and 1
for coal. Also a few for the students to have their seeds placed to mine through.
Have whole group begin mining by putting precious metals of specific labeled paper plates.
As they are mining walk around room bring out the 3 x 5 Montana cards and tell them of unforeseen problems.
Have students mine for 20 minutes.
Stop mining and whole group inventory your treasures on paper.
Have each group write on white board final amount of money earned from mining to see who most successful.
Student Assessment: Observe students as they begin to mine for gold to see if they were listening to all the
information and instructions. Also after the lesson is finished have an extra discussion for understanding.
Extension: Follow-up questions:
1. What was surprising to you that you did not realize before?
2. What was the hardest thing you had to do?
3. What responsibility did you take to learn the information presented in this unit?
4. What part(s) of the unit did you find most interesting? Why?
5. What was your least favorite lesson in the unit? Why?
6. What made it easier for you to learn what was taught during the unit?
7. What could have been done better?