THE CARIBOO GOLD RUSH ADVENTURE

This lesson is designed to be used as an introductory lesson for students in Grade 5 studying the gold rush. The lesson consists of a worksheet that students fill out while playing the game THE CARIBOO GOLD RUSH. The game is an educational game on a BC Government Internet site in which students make decisions like the original gold miners did. This is an excellent site to check for more ideas for your unit about the gold rush.

By Kara Turner

Grade 5 Social Studies Learning Outcomes covered:

It is expected that students will:

• gather and record a body of information from a variety of primary and secondary sources
• analyse the relationship between development of communities and their available natural resources
• explain how supply and demand are affected by population and the availability of resources
• analyse factors that influence use and development of transportation and communications systems in different regions of Canada
• analyse the influence of technology on lifestyle and work

MATERIALS:

Before entering the computer lab, make sure that each student has a copy of the following worksheet:

Click here to get the worksheet in Microsoft Word.

Click here to get the worksheet in Adobe Acrobat.

Students will also need a blank map of British Columbia. You can get one at the following web site:

National Geographic Expeditions

LESSON:

1. You can choose to use this lesson at any point during your study of the gold rush as a review or introduction to some of the towns involved, the technology, the people and the feeling of the time.

Give each student a copy of the worksheet and have them go into the computer lab and log on.

2. Have students type in the following address (it is at the top of their sheet) and go to the Cariboo Gold Rush site:

www.tbc.gov.bc.ca/culture/schoolnet/cariboo/adventur/index.htm

3. Students should follow the instructions on the sheet and answer the questions in the space provided.

4. After completing the lesson, a class discussion could follow to talk about the experience and what students feel it would have been like to be part the gold rush. Students could also share answers for the last question about what other occupations and jobs the gold rush created in BC communities (ex. storekeepers, teachers, guides, engineers,etc...).

5. Students could now write an adventure story about their experience during the Cariboo Gold Rush.

EXTENSIONS:

-This web site has another game on it titled "Millennium Cariboo Gold Rush Adventure Game". This game is a little more like the Yukon Trail game with photos and more reading materials. Characters in it are real characters from BC's past. You may wish to have students try this game.

-There are many other activities and ideas at this site and you may wish to explore it. You could divide students into groups and have each group research a different aspect of the gold rush using the information at the Cariboo Gold Rush Site.

Click here to return to the Lesson Plans page.

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