The California Gold Rush – Teacher Answers

Teacher answer key

1. Warm-up: answers will vary.
2. Vocabulary: migrant = a person who moves to another place; mining camp = a temporary settlement for miners; wealthy = having a lot of money; displacement = being forced to leave a place; accelerate = to make something happen faster
3. Reading comprehension: 1) At Sutter’s Mill in California. 2) They hoped to become rich. 3) Forty-niners. 4) No. 5) Any one: environmental damage, high prices, violence/displacement/loss of land for Indigenous communities.
4. Grammar: 1) were travelling / spread; 2) were searching / grew; 3) sold / were arriving; 4) rose / was increasing
5. Listening script: “San Francisco changed quickly during the Gold Rush. Ships arrived with people and goods, and the city’s population grew rapidly. Some people earned more money by running shops, restaurants or transport businesses than by mining for gold.”
   Answers: 1) San Francisco. 2) People and goods. 3) It grew rapidly. 4) By running shops, restaurants or transport businesses.
6. Speaking: answers will vary.
7. Something fun: answers will vary.
8. Writing: answers will vary. Encourage students to use details from the lesson and accurate target language.

Puzzle/Game: answers will vary. Encourage students to use lesson vocabulary and explain their choices.

Success criteria: this is a student self-check. No single answer is required.

For open-ended tasks, accept different answers when students can explain or support them clearly.