Chapter 5: Teaching Racial Inequity Through the California Gold Rush

From an early age, children recognize differences in skin color, and by the early elementary grades, students are beginning to make sense of race and detect racism. Elementary teachers who intentionally make their classroom a place for students to investigate racial inequity tap into their students’ burgeoning understandings of race and racism and help students better understand the causes of discrimination and how people can work against systems of oppression. However, examples of lessons on race outside of a few elementary social studies units of study (e.g., Wampanoag and Pilgrims, slavery, the modern civil rights movement) are rare. This chapter uses the California Gold Rush as an event that should make race and inequity the focus of a historical inquiry. It includes an engaging opener that simulates the racial caste system of 1850s California and has students “do history” by asking them to construct an argument based on the evidence found in captivating primary sources. Although intended for grades 3–5, the lesson plan can be adapted for middle and high school students.