Eureka! Gold Fever in Kindergarten
The Gold Rush Unit is the final curricular theme each year in kindergarten, marking the end of an exciting year of learning and growth for Live Oak’s youngest students. This unit of study allows kindergartners to practice and refine many skills from the school year including reading, writing, drawing, and asking big questions as they learn why people came from all over the world to California in the 1800s.
All areas of the classroom reflect engagement with this subject matter: creative projects like painting and making toys, an imaginary play area filled with Gold Rush era dress-up clothing and tools, a class library with fiction and non-fiction books, and card games and board games from the olden days.
We start the unit with a thinking routine called SEE/THINK/WONDER to spark interest and curiosity while checking for prior knowledge. Students then dive into a variety of cross-curricular activities throughout each week to immerse themselves in Gold Rush learning.
Students work their way through “contracts” (work stations) to explore this historical unit, further developing skills across the curriculum. Built-in time for free choice and play activities occur daily and connect to our theme. In the ChangeMaker Lab, students decorate pioneer trunks that will be filled with handmade keepsakes and treasures they create. These include travel journals, weavings, jewelry, old-timey framed photographs, handmade toys, and more.
Math work during this unit focuses on number sense. We use real coins to count and combine numbers, introducing fundamental addition and subtraction concepts. Specialist classes (music, art, library) also embrace this theme, taking on projects like hand-sewn gold pouches, music and songs from bygone days, and read-alouds connected to the Gold Rush and Camp Live Oak. Sharing (Show and Tell) takes on its final form as The Antiques Roadshow: students bring in old objects or photos to share with the class, deepening their understanding of the way our lives have changed over time.
Weekly Friday field trips provide real world experiences like hands on water pumps and troughs at the new Presidio Tunnel Tops Playground and a ride on a real train.
The unit culminates with a top secret tradition at Camp Live Oak: hunting for gold in the stream at Camp Jones Gulch. Students call out “Eureka!” as they discover gold nuggets.
The Gold Rush Unit in kindergarten is a fan favorite, and many students report keeping their wooden trunk and its contents for many years. It is always incredible to see the culmination of the students’ hard work and engagement in their final projects from kindergarten. Eureka!
Live Oak学校欢迎并接纳任何种族、肤色、民族和族裔、公民身份、性别认同、性别表达、性取向和信仰的学生参与Live Oak学校的所有权利、特权、项目和活动。在管理其教育政策和计划、招生政策、调整后的学费计划以及体育和其他学校管理的计划方面，Live Oak学校不存在基于种族、肤色、民族和族裔出身、公民身份、性别认同、性别表达、性取向和信仰的歧视。