Ethan+Resources

= Additional Resources for teaching The Gold Rush and Westward Expansion =

[|PBS Kids]

This site offers material on many different topics concerning the Gold Rush, like the Californios and different routes taken by Forty-Niners. This website offers materials for teachers and parents alike, and who's to stop the kids from getting an inside look, eh? Many sections draw from the Oakland Museum of California, and offer interviews and tours of the Gold Rush exhibit. For parents (but also teachers) the site offers a list of books to read with kids.

[|Federal Resources for Educational Excellence]

FREE is a website under the US Dept. of Education that compiles resources for teachers from various governmental archives and agencies. This is a terrific resource for any teacher, especially for social studies teachers who want to dive into the national archives. The site gives some good primary sources: accounts of the California Gold Rush from various sources. Additionally, the site provides readings and perspectives on the Klondike Gold Rush and its effect on Seattle and Alaska.

[|The Huntington Library]

The Huntington Library provides free lesson plans for teachers and administrators (or anyone at all). The lessons are usually based on the artifacts that the library owns, whether it be prose, poetry, art, or flora. One section of lesson plans is "Land of Golden Dreams" which pertains to the settling of California in the decade of the Gold Rush. This page would be perfect for a webquest, as it shows many artifacts and helps students understand the lived reality of a settler in the West.

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