History of California

History of California – A series of ten SubUnits
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History of California GoldRush

SubUnit 1 Introduction
SubUnit 2 California Indians 
SubUnit 3 Missions and Ranchos 
SubUnit 4 California: 1800-1849 
SubUnit 5 The Gold Rush 
SubUnit 6 California: 1849-1899
SubUnit 7 California: 1900-1939 
SubUnit 8 California: 1940-present
SubUnit 9 Review Pack I 
SubUnit 10 Review Pack II
Each SubUnit (not Unit) costs USA $19.95 NZ $24.95
This price includes permission to photocopy

The story of the history of California makes fascinating reading. Using the MLA approach students will hear or read the stories, told from an autobiographical or biographical viewpoint, of some of the important contributors to the State’s history.

We begin, in SubUnit 2 California Indians , with Ishi (told from an autobiographical viewpoint). From his story we can appreciate his gentleness and wisdom and view California society at the beginning of the century from a unique standpoint. 
(SubUnit 1 covers the geography of California).

Next, in SubUnit 3 Missions and Ranchos, comes the story of Junípero Serra and the missionaries and how they introduced European plants, agriculture and way of life to the region. This is followed by the true and, in many ways, sad story of Concepción Argüello. This SubUnit also contains the story of Maria Antonia Vallejo (the Vallejo’s were one of the first families to settle in California) and her experience with pirates.

SubUnit 4 California: 1800-1849 covers the history of California from 1800-1849.It includes the story of the explorations of Lewis and Clark, a short separate story on Sacagawea and her importance to the expedition. This leads us to the Mountain Men. We tell of the story of Jedediah Smith (and others).

John Charles Frémont and his adventures and exploits, is the subject of our next story. This is followed by the tragic tale of the Donner party. We complete this SubUnit with the stories of two pioneering women. Firstly, the story of Virginaia Reed Murphy, a member of the Donner party. Secondly,the story of Eliza Roberts who was a member of the successful wagon train that made its way to California in 1847.

Included in SubUnit 5 The Gold Rush are many stories of the Gold Rush. We tell the story of the Mexican War and this is followed by biographies of some of the early settlers such as Samual Brannan and John Sutter. However, one fo the the most important and interesting persons of this period was James Marshall. We write his story (4 stories in total) from an autobiographical viewpoint.

We tell the story of the history of California from 1849 to 1899 (SubUnit 6) through the eyes of an (fictional) immigrant John Smith and his experiences and adventures (story is in 4 parts). We add the true stories of John Muir and Henry Ford.

The story of California, from 1900 to the present (SubUnits 7 & 8), is told through the eyes of a fictional character Mary Tu. Her story tells of a third generation immigrant (her father was Chinese) who succeeded although she had to overcome many obstacles. The biography of the founder of the Bank of America, Amadeo Giannini is also included in this SubUnit.

SubUnits 8 & 9 are composed of Review Exercises. These SubUnits were written at the request of teachers and are not based on the Waldorf approach. Besides stories the SubUnits include many dramas including Where am I in time?, 1906 Earthquake, Hollywood, Agriculture and Aerospace.

Dispersed through the SubUnits are a considerable number of activities including many art and craft. These include Indian Games; Indian, Weaving and Artwork; a Model of Mission and Rancho; Branding; Letter Writing; Model of a Frontier Town; and Paper-cutting.