There's gold in them thar hills! A short cartoon introduces middle schoolers to the California Gold Rush of 1849. The video encourages viewers to dig deeper and mine for a lode of information about gold mining, the 49ers, and the businessmen who struck it rich.

Concepts

the california gold rush, cartooning, editorial cartoons, political cartoons, the wild west, gold, gold mining

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use the video to introduce and encourage research into the California Gold Rush, gold mining, and businessmen like Levi Strauss

Classroom Considerations

• The video ends with an ad asking viewer to sign up for the Simple History: Wild West Today series
• Show the video in full-screen mode to avoid inappropriate comments

• This video is hosted on YouTube

Pros

• The narrator's accent is sure to engage young viewers

Cons

• The video is an overview and lacks specific details