California Gold Rush, Pony Express, & Transcontinental Railroad Lesson Plan

1. Stretch, pray, & read Colossians 3:23.

2. Begin making California Gold Rush Sourdough Biscuits. Divide children into 3 groups and have each group make a batch of the below recipe. (*If you don't know of anyone who already has sourdough starter, you can either make your own sourdough starter (which you'll need to start a week ahead of time) or just have the children make buttermilk biscuits.*)

Each group will make this recipe:
1 cup sourdough starter (active and bubbly)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons lukewarm water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4-1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons butter-flavored shortening
1/4 cup melted butter or 1/4 cup margarine
Pour sourdough starter and sugar into a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl dissolve yeast in the warm water and then add that to the starter/sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Cut the shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse cornmeal. Add the flour/shortening mix to the starter mixture. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently, adding more flour if necessary. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut it with a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass dipped in flour. Dip in the biscuits in melted butter and place them in a greased cake pan. The edges will touch. Cover the pan with a dishtowel or plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Bake the biscuits at 400 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

MOM 1: YOU WILL NEED: 3 cups sourdough starter, 3 teaspoons sugar, 3 teaspoons dry yeast, 2 mixing bowls, 1 small bowl, mixing spoon, measuring spoons and cups, cake pan, biscuit cutter, & rolling pin
MOM 2: YOU WILL NEED: 12 tablespoons butter-flavored shortening, 3/4 cup melted butter or margarine, 2 mixing bowls, 1 small bowl, mixing spoon, measuring spoons and cups, cake pan, biscuit cutter, & rolling pin
MOM 3: YOU WILL NEED: 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 5 cups flour, 2 mixing bowls, 1 small bowl, mixing spoon, measuring spoons and cups, cake pan, biscuit cutter, & rolling pin

3. Use pictures from "When Gold Fever!: Tales from the California Gold Rush" by Rosalyn Schanzer to talk about the California gold rush.

4. Pan for "gold." Do this outside if the weather allows. Each child needs a metal cake pan or pie plate and a sandwich bag. Ahead of time we filled up 3 large plastic storage bins with water ("rivers") and dumped colored glass beads ("gold" and "rocks") into the bins. You can toss in some sand as well, but we opted to not do that since it would have made a big mess. Divide the children into 3 groups, 1 per plastic bin. Show the children how to scoop up the "rocks" using the pie plate, swirl around the water, pick out the yellow "gold" beads and dump the rest of the glass beads back in the water. They can put their "gold nuggets" in their sandwich bag pouch. (*If you don't have lots of glass beads, you can use whatever you have available. Try using craft beads or even frozen mixed vegetables with the corn being the gold -- which is what I did with my family initially when we were "testing out" the activity the day before co-op.)

MOM 4: YOU WILL NEED: 3 large plastic storage bins, colored glass beads (including yellow ones), sandwich bags (1 per child), & towels

5. Discuss the Pony Express by showing pictures from "They're Off! : The Story of the Pony Express" by Cheryl Harness, "Off Like the Wind!: The First Ride of the Pony Express" by Michael P. Spradlin, or "Pony Express!" by Steven Kroll.

6. Act out the Pony Express. We used a combination of bikes, riding toys, and stick horses. Set up the first team, spacing them apart from each other. Give the first person the mochila(a purse) and have them ride to the next person, passing off the mochila, and then continue on. After the mochila has arrived in "California," hand the last rider a different mochila, and have them race back to the next person, then that person passes it to the next person, and so on. Those who are watching can either be a crowd that cheers on the riders or they can be Native Americans, wolves, and/or buffalo that chase after the pony express riders in the middle parts (those crossing the plains). Time each team and see which one delivers the mail the fastest. If desired, you can let each rider wear a cowboy hat, wear a toy gun, and carry a whistle to alert the next rider that s/he coming up behind them.
MOM 1: YOU WILL NEED: bikes, riding toys, and stick horses, 2 purses, "mail," cowboy hats (optional), whistles (optional), toy guns (optional), & feather headdresses (optional)

7. Put the biscuits in the oven if you haven't done so already.

8. Discuss the Transcontinental Railroad using pictures from books.

9. Build a model of the Transcontinental Railroad. (These directions are from "Going West!" by Carol A. Johmann)
a) Divide the children into 2 groups and then have them sit in one straight line. Half the children will represent the Central Pacific. Have them sit in a straight line facing the other group. The other half of the children will represent the Union Pacific. Have them sit in a straight line facing the Central Pacific group. Give each child a piece of cardboard and about 25 popsicle sticks.
b) Railroad Workers used a T-shaped gauge to position the rails on the ties. Have each child break off a short piece off one popsicle stick and glue the longer piece to another stick to make a T. While it's drying, do step c.
c) After a bed of stones and sand was prepared, heavy wooden ties were dropped on it. Surveyors then leveled each tie. Give each child a piece of cardboard. Have them tape the popsicle sticks along the cardboard about 2 inches apart. The distance doesn't have to be exact.
d) A cart pulled by a horse supplied the rails. It took 5 men on each side to lift a single iron rail and drop it onto the ties. They used the gauge to make sure the rails were spaced the correct distance apart. Then they hammered spikes through the rails into the ties. Give each child about 10 pipe cleaners or straws. Have them lay the pipe cleaners (the "rails") along their popsicle stick "ties." They can use their gauges to position them. With the stapler opened, have them staple the pipe cleaners through the ties into the cardboard.
e) Have the Central Pacific group neatly lay their finished track in one straight line toward the Union Pacific Group. Meanwhile, have the Union Pacific group lay their finished tracks in one straight line toward the Central Pacific's group. Each group's tracks should form a continuous track. Place one piece of cardboard between the two tracks. Pick one volunteer from each side to finish the connecting track. Give them a yellow thumb tack to put in last as the "golden spike."
MOM 2: YOU WILL NEED: 30 popsicle sticks (per child), double stick tape, & 1 yellow thumb tack
MOM 3: YOU WILL NEED: 1 long piece of cardboard (per child), 10 pipe cleaners or straws (per child), plus one extra set of the cardboard and pipe cleaners/straws

10. Eat biscuits with jam, if desired, and drink tea "from an empty powder keg" (or a pitcher)
MOM 4: YOU WILL NEED: 18 plates, napkins, cups, & plastic knives, jam, and sweat tea

11. 5 Minute review of what we've learned

Konos Curriculum
I use Konos Curriculum as a springboard from which to plan my lessons. It's a wonderful curriculum and was created by moms with active boys!

Konos Home School Mentor
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