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Letters from a '49er: John Robertson Maben and the Search for California Gold!

by  HistoryConnects from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture

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In 1849, John Robertson Maben traveled to California in search of gold. In a series of thirteen letters, Maben describes his travels to his wife, Sarah. These letters are especially vivid as Maben was witness to events both momentous and mundane. He wrote of the cholera epidemic of 1849, the great St. Louis fire that same year, and the excitement and brutality of the California gold fields. In this program, students will join Maben on his journey, interpreting his letters, tracing his travels on a nineteenth-century map, and examining the landscape.

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About This Program

Cost

Point to Point: $125.00
By Request: $125.00


Program invoices will be sent out after program has been delivered.
Please allow up to 5 business days to have your program request processed.

Length

45-60 minutes


Target Audience

Education: Grade(s) 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, Parent, Adult Learners University Public Library: Library Patrons Retirement Communities

Minimum participants:

1

Maximum participants:

No maximum, but we suggest no more than 30 students.


Primary Disciplines

Literacy, Social Studies/History


Program Delivery Mode

Videoconference - H.323 (Polycom, Cisco/Tandberg, LifeSize, etc...)
Videoconference – Webcam/desktop (Zoom, Google Meet, Cisco WebEx, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, etc...)
Webinar
ZoomZoom



Booking Information

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Receive this program and 9 more for one low price when you purchase the CILC Virtual Expeditions package. Learn more

For more information contact CILC at (507) 388-3672

Provider's Cancellation Policy

We will not charge for programs canceled due to inclement weather. The full presentation fee will be charged to sites, which cancel with less than 48 hours notice.

About This Provider

Content Provider logo

 

HistoryConnects from the Virginia Museum of History & Culture

Richmond, VA
United States

The Virginia Museum of History & Culture is owned and operated by the Virginia Historical Society—a private, non-profit organization. The historical society is the oldest cultural organization in Virginia, and one of the oldest and most distinguished history organizations in the nation. For use in its state history museum and its renowned research library, the historical society cares for a collection of nearly nine million items representing the ever-evolving story of Virginia.

HistoryConnects is an outreach education initiative by the Virginia Museum of History and Culture utilizing video and web conferencing to reach learners of all ages across the state of Virginia and around the world! HistoryConnects is made possible in part by the Hugh V. White, Jr., Outreach Education Fund.

Contact:
VMHC Education
education@virginiahistory.org
804-342-9689

Program Details

Format

Students will receive /download typescripts of letters and copies of select originals. The instructor will walk them through the letters, discussing highlighted passages, exploring the nature of westward expansion, and examining life on the 19th century American frontier.

Objectives

1. Students will be able to analyze and interpret primary source materials.
2. Students will be able to distinguish between primary and secondary sources.
3. Students will be able to use maps to identify location and estimate distances.
4. Students will understand the factors that led people to decide to move west in the
mid-nineteenth century, specifically push/pull factors.
5. Students will understand some of the hardships that people faced as they moved west in the mid-nineteenth century.
6. Students will understand the role ordinary Americans played in the making of American history.

Standards Alignment

National Standards

National Curriculum Standards:
Historical Thinking Standards:
Standard 2: Historical Comprehension
Standard 3: Historical Analysis & Interpretation

Historical Content Standards:
Era 4: Expansion and Reform (1801-1861):
Standard 2:
How the industrial revolution, increasing immigration, the rapid expansion of slavery, and the westward movement changed the lives of Americans and led toward regional tensions.

Common Core
Grade Two
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.3 : Describe the connection between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.4 : Determine the meaning of words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.2.6 : Identify the main purpose of a text, including what the author wants to answer, explain, or describe.
Grade Three
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.1 : Ask and answer questions to demonstrate understanding of a text, referring explicitly to the text as the basis for the answers.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.3 : Describe the relationships between a series of historical events, scientific ideas or concepts, or steps in technical procedures in a text, using language that pertains to time, sequence, and cause/effect.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.7 : Use information gained from illustrations and the words in a text to demonstrate understanding of the text (eg, where, when, why, and how key events occur).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.3.9 : Compare and contrast the most important points and key details presented in two texts on the same topic.
Grade Four
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.3 : Explain events, procedures, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text , including what happened and why, based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words or phrases in a text relevant to a grade 4 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.4.6 : Compare and contrast a firsthand and secondhand account of the same event or topic; describe the differences in focus and information provided.
Grade Five
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.3 : Explain the relationships or interactions between two or more individuals, events, ideas, or concepts in a historical, scientific, or technical text based on specific information in the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.4 : Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.6 : Analyze multiple accounts of the same event or topic, noting important similarities and differences in the point of view they represent.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7 : Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.
Grade Six-Eight
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.1 : Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.2 : Determine the central ideas or information of primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of the source distinct from prior knowledge or opinions.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.3 : Identify key steps in a text's description of a process related to history/social studies.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.7 : Integrate visual information (eg., photographs or maps) with other information in print and digital texts.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.6-8.9 : Analyze the relationship between a primary and secondary source on the same topic.
Grade Nine-Ten
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.1 : Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources, attending to such features as the date and origin of the information.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.3 : Analyze in detail a series of events described in a text; determine whether earlier events caused later ones or simply preceded them.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.9 : Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
Grade Eleven-Twelve
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.4 : Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including analyzing how an author uses and refines the meaning of a key term over the course of a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7 : Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media in order to address a question or solve a problem.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.9 : Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting discrepancies among sources.

State Standards

Virginia Standards of Learning:
STANDARD USI.8The student will demonstrate knowledge of westward expansion and reform in
America from 1801 to 1861 by
b) identifying the geographic and economic factors that influenced the westward
movement of settlers.
c) describing the impact of inventions, including the cotton gin, the reaper, the
steamboat, and the steam locomotive, on life in America.

STANDARD VUS.6bThe student will demonstrate knowledge of the major events from the last decade of
the eighteenth century through the first half of the nineteenth century by
b) identifying the economic, political, and geographic factors that led to territorial
expansion and its impact on the American Indians.