PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY

Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Name: Grade: 4th
______________________________________________________________________________
LESSON #1
GARDNER
BLOOM
_____ Visual
_____ Kinesthetic
_____ Verbal
_____ Logical
__x__ Rhythmic
__x__ Interpersonal
_____ Intrapersonal
_____ Naturalist

_____ Knowledge
__x__ Comprehension
__x__ Application
__x__ Analysis
_____ Synthesis
__x__ Evaluation

SUBJECT AREA: Social Studies

TEACHER PERFORMANCE EXPECTATION ADDRESSED:
TPE1, TPE2, TPE3, TPE4, TPE5, TPE6, TPE7, TPE8, TPE9, TPE10, TPE11, TPE12, TPE13

COMMON CORE STANDARD(S):

4.3.2 Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical
environment (e.g., using biographies of John Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp).
VPA-CCSS 4.3.1 Explain the relationship between music and events in history
PERSONNEL: Teacher
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: Computers, document camera, speakers, graphic organizer,
Gold Rush worksheet
LESSON LENGTH: One hour
PREPARATION:
The teacher will select three American western folk ballads for students.
Songs: Oh My Darling, Clementine, Ho! For California! and Old Settlers Song
Print song lyrics and make copies for students
Create a guide to help students as they navigate through a website and answer questions
Create a worksheet with questions about the Gold Rush
Print graphic organizers
OBJECTIVE:
Students will be able to analyze and explain the effects that the California Gold Rush had on the
daily life of people who lived in California at the time by completing a web quest activity and
examine American folk songs.

ANTICIPATORY SET:
The teacher will have the folk ballads playing in the background and say, We will be listening to
some of our comrades experiences through song, do we have our singing voices on? Students
will receive a copy of the lyrics so they can sing along. Once students receive the lyrics teacher
explains the next steps, We will also be exploring what our lives would be like if we were living
in California during the Gold Rush.
PROCEDURE (Teaching/Input):
Teacher will explain the relationship between the folk ballads and the people who
traveled to California in search of gold. Teacher will explain the importance of paying
close attention to the lyrics of the songs. Once all three songs have been played twice,
students will analyze and explain their interpretation of the songs to a partner. A class
discussion will follow the partner discussions.

Students will utilize a note-taking graphic organizer to write down ideas.

Students will vote on one folk song for the class to practice and sing again.

The class will travel to the computer lab as they sing the chorus of one of the folk songs.

Students will complete a website exploration guided by a worksheet. Students will

complete the questions presented on the sheet. Students have three different sites they
can visit to gather information.

Students will work in groups for 5 minutes to share information discovered

MODEL (Demo):

Teacher will sing aloud while practicing the pronunciation of the words in the song
lyrics.

Teacher will select one of the websites to explore and navigate as students watch.
GUIDED PRACTICE (Checking for understanding-group) LEARNING TASKS
(Activities):

Teacher will circulate as students are singing the selected folk song and look for words
many students are struggling with to discuss.
Students work with a partner to share their representation of the song lyrics.
Students will work with partners to explore the last five questions on the web-quest
question sheet.
Teacher will circulate as students are working on the last five questions and ask guided
questions.

INDEPENDENT PRACTICE (Monitor/adjustindividual) PRODUCTIVE MODALITIES:

Students will fill out a graphic organizer with ideas, comments, pictorial representations
of the meaning of the folk song lyrics.

Students will work independently to answer the first five questions of the web quest
worksheet.

CLOSURE:

Students will practice the selected folk song chorus and sing it together. Students will fill out an
exit ticket. The exit ticket question: Identify any similarities between information learned from
the song lyrics and information gathered from the web investigation.
DIFFERENTIATED LEARNING ACTIVITIES (Learning centers, manipulative(s), special
needs, etc.):
Gate: Students will create journal entries describing their journey to California.
Struggling Learners: Students will be paired with a student to discuss the significance
of the song lyrics. (Purposeful pairing)
SDAIE Techniques:

Students will have a conversation discussing initial thoughts of the meaning of the songs.
Students will have the chance to listen to several students explain their representation of
the folk songs.
Students will participate in a whole class discussion about the music. Students will have
the opportunity to ask for definitions of uncommon words.
Students will use a graphic organizer during the class discussion to write down notes.

Resources:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/goldrush/filmmore/index.html
http://explore.museumca.org/goldrush/
http://thecaliforniagoldrushyay.weebly.com/political-impact.html