Dear Parents and Students,

In class we will have explored the changes in California during the Gold Rush. Attached please find the directions and guidelines for the Gold Rush Project-creating a newspaper.

After reading and studying information about the Gold Rush, you will create a newspaper to reflect your understanding of the topics explored. There is no suggested format or length requirement. Your creativity will be encouraged. A grade will be given based on the quality of the information.

I will be more than happy to assist in any way if you should need help. Remember to start early!!!

Project Guidelines:

1.  Find gold rush resources, begin reading and taking notes as you find out information. You may use books and/or the Internet to find information. Some good California Internet sites are :

•  museumca.org/goldrush

•  sfmuseum.org

•  pbs.org/goldrush

•  rarenewspapers.com/wildwest.asp

•  ncgold.com/goldrushtown

2.  Use your notes to create a newspaper . Examples of articles can include (but are not excluded to):

• Sacramento during the Gold Rush
• Biography of James Marshall, John Sutter, Peter Lassen, Jedediah Smith, or Abel Stearns
• Indians in the Gold Rush
• Important events
• Journey to California by land
• Sea travel
• Panama route
• Supplies and tools
• Methods of gold mining
• Food and drink
• Sutter's Mill
• Gold
• Chinese immigrants during the Gold Rush
• The Forty-Niner
• What to wear
• Shopping
• Accommodations
• Law enforcement/crime
• Health
• Claiming land
• Education

3. Be prepared to give an oral presentation

Article Ideas:

Below are some examples of items to include. You do not need to include them all-these are just suggestions. Also, you do not need to stick to just Gold Mining but also discuss what was happening during the times.

-News Articles : Write a news article as a breaking story. This article should include a lead (that tells the who, what, where, when, why and how) and supporting details that give factual information about the event.

-Obituary : Write an obituary to discuss a person's life and his/her contributions to American history.

-Editorials : discusses the importance of the event. Why do you think this event is important? How did it affect America and the world when it happened? How did it affect future events in American history? This section is written with YOUR opinions so it's acceptable to use the word "I".

-Sports Section : Write about a sports figure or event from the period.

-Political Cartoon/Comics : Make an original political cartoon or comics about an event.

- Fashion Section : What were the styles of the period? Include pictures and your own text.

-Advertisements : Make ads for products of the time such as general store ads that include prices of products or ads for equipment or livestock?

- Food Guide : Write your own food column. What kinds of recipes were popular? What kind of equipment existed (or didn't exist!) for food preparation?

-Financial Report : What was the U.S. economy like during this period? What new businesses or products were there? What advice would you give investors of the time?

-Real Estate/Mining Camp Life : Create original advertisements. What were homes like during the time of your chosen event?What was camping life like?

-Classifieds or Help Wanted section: What kinds of jobs did people have? How was the employment scene different then than it is today?

-Advice Column : Create an authentic advice column for the types of problems people had.