Mining at the Comstock Lode
5E template
Lesson Plan #1
Mining at the Comstock Lode
This first lesson plan deals with the Comstock Lode. The Comstock Lode is the most notable mine during this time period, 1850-1860. This mine produced hundreds of million dollars of silver and gold. This section is important because it deals with more than just mining; it also deals with boomtowns and the beginning of the migration west.
Content/Knowledge:
1. Students will be able to compare and contrast Henry Comstock and James Finney.
2. Students will be able to debate who onwed the mine
3. Students will be able to analyze images of miners.
4. Students will be able to describe technology used in the Comstock lode.
Process/Skills:
1. Students will be able to design their own help wanted poster for the mining industry.
2. Students will be able to analyze pictures of miners in groups of two.
3. Students will be able to examine the biographies of both Henry Comstock and James Finney.
Values/Dispositions:
1. Students will be able to depict the risk and reward of being a miner.
2. Students will be able to analyze the attitude of the miners and what they actually went through.
State – Illinois Learning Standards
18.C.4a Analyze major cultural exchanges of the past (e.g., Colombian exchange, the Silk Road, the Crusades)
15.D.4c Describe the impact of worker productivity (output per worker) on business, the worker and the consumer.
15.D.4c Describe the impact of worker productivity (output per worker) on business, the worker and the consumer.
15.D.4c Describe the impact of worker productivity (output per worker) on business, the worker and the consumer.
16.B.4 (US) Identify political ideas that have dominated United States historical eras (e.g., Federalist, Jacksonian, Progressivist, New Deal, New Conservative).
16.B.4 (US) Identify political ideas that have dominated United States historical eras (e.g., Federalist, Jacksonian, Progressivist, New Deal, New Conservative).
16.E.4b (US) Describe different and sometimes competing views, as substantiated by scientific fact, that people in North America have historically held towards the environment (e.g., private and public land ownership and use, resource use vs. preservation).
State – Common Core State Standards
National – National Council for the Social Studies Standards
1a. Culture: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns
1b. Culture: give examples of how experiences may be interpreted differently by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference
Standard 2.d -- Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos and others.
National – National Standards for History
1a. Culture: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns
1b. Culture: give examples of how experiences may be interpreted differently by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference
Standard 2.d -- Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos and others.
Mining at the Comstock Lode
This first lesson plan deals with the Comstock Lode. The Comstock Lode is the most notable mine during this time period, 1850-1860. This mine produced hundreds of million dollars of silver and gold. This section is important because it deals with more than just mining; it also deals with boomtowns and the beginning of the migration west.
Content/Knowledge:
1. Students will be able to compare and contrast Henry Comstock and James Finney.
2. Students will be able to debate who onwed the mine
3. Students will be able to analyze images of miners.
4. Students will be able to describe technology used in the Comstock lode.
Process/Skills:
1. Students will be able to design their own help wanted poster for the mining industry.
2. Students will be able to analyze pictures of miners in groups of two.
3. Students will be able to examine the biographies of both Henry Comstock and James Finney.
Values/Dispositions:
1. Students will be able to depict the risk and reward of being a miner.
2. Students will be able to analyze the attitude of the miners and what they actually went through.
State – Illinois Learning Standards
18.C.4a Analyze major cultural exchanges of the past (e.g., Colombian exchange, the Silk Road, the Crusades)
15.D.4c Describe the impact of worker productivity (output per worker) on business, the worker and the consumer.
15.D.4c Describe the impact of worker productivity (output per worker) on business, the worker and the consumer.
15.D.4c Describe the impact of worker productivity (output per worker) on business, the worker and the consumer.
16.B.4 (US) Identify political ideas that have dominated United States historical eras (e.g., Federalist, Jacksonian, Progressivist, New Deal, New Conservative).
16.B.4 (US) Identify political ideas that have dominated United States historical eras (e.g., Federalist, Jacksonian, Progressivist, New Deal, New Conservative).
16.E.4b (US) Describe different and sometimes competing views, as substantiated by scientific fact, that people in North America have historically held towards the environment (e.g., private and public land ownership and use, resource use vs. preservation).
State – Common Core State Standards
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.7 Integrate quantitative or technical analysis (e.g., charts, research data) with qualitative analysis in print or digital text.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.8 Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author’s claims.
- CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.
National – National Council for the Social Studies Standards
1a. Culture: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns
1b. Culture: give examples of how experiences may be interpreted differently by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference
Standard 2.d -- Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos and others.
National – National Standards for History
1a. Culture: Explore and describe similarities and differences in the ways groups, societies, and cultures address similar human needs and concerns
1b. Culture: give examples of how experiences may be interpreted differently by people from diverse cultural perspectives and frames of reference
Standard 2.d -- Identify and use various sources for reconstructing the past, such as documents, letters, diaries, maps, textbooks, photos and others.