Postcards from the Gold Rush

Task:

Your task is to create a series of postcards describing your adventures on the way to (or at) the California diggin's.

You can create a multimedia slide show to present your cards, or make them out of paper.

Your project should include at least 4 postcards. Each postcard should include the following information:

1. A picture from your trip

2. A description of your picture: who, what, where, and any other interesting facts

3. A personal letter to your loved one back home - include details about your trip

4. A stamp

Postcard Guidelines: At least 4 postcards

The Inroduction and Conclusion cards are required. Choose at least two other cards (person, place, thing, or idea) to complete your project.

Thing:

Write about an interesting "thing" from the gold rush period.

Why is this object important?

Introduction: (required)

Introduction: Who are you? Why you are making this trip?

Be creative! Are you a sailor? A child? A salesman? A writer?

Place:

Describe an interesting place that you have discovered while on this journey.

Conclusion: (required)

Conclusion: What happened to you? Did you strike it rich? Are you going to return home?

What are your final impressions of the gold rush?

Person:

Tell about an interesting person that you have met along the way.

Why is this person important to you?

Idea:

Write about an "idea." Select a picture that represents an issue or problem that was relevant during the gold rush.

For example: gold fever, inflation, supply/demand, racism, nutrition, gender roles

Resources:

Get information and images for your postcards at the site By The Great Horn Spoon!

Draw your own stamps, or go to this stamp collection to find stamp images for your postcards.

Click here to open and print a student worksheet for this project.

This is an example of how you could do postcard about a "thing" (an object significant to the gold rush.)

Click on this postcard to see the larger image

Process:

Step 1: Print a student worksheet or get one from your teacher. This will help you stay focused on the project requirements.

Step 2: Read through the site By the Great Horn Spoon! to find images and writing ideas for your postcards. Use your worksheet to take notes as you go because you need to include a short description of each image on your postcards!

Step 3: Save any images you plan to use for your postcards in your images folder as a jpeg or gif file.

If your picture is on the internet, do a right click on the picture and choose "Save Image As". Save it in your "images" folder.

If you plan to draw your own postcard or stamp for a slide show project, use a scanner to scan the drawing. Save it in your "images" folder.

Step 4: Write your postcards following the guidelines. Take your time. Remember, even a short postcard note can say a lot. Make each sentence count.

Step 5: Create a slide show! Make your postcards in a multimedia format using software like Hyperstudio or PowerPoint.

*Note: Make the postcard image on one PowerPoint slide, then the writing on the next. When you print, choose the print option to print "two slides per page." Then, each postcard will have its own page.

Step 6: Present your project and don't forget to have fun!

Please note: The images on the web site By the Great Horn Spoon!: a Gold Rush Adventure are protected by copyright and may be used for educational purposes in the classroom only. Any slide show that you create using these images may not be published on the Internet.

Top of page:

Resources:

Process:

Task:

Postcard Guidelines: