Card Sort: What impact did the Gold Rush have on the American West?

This outstanding card sort is designed to help students studying the impact of the Gold Rush on the American West by looking at the positive and negative consequences affecting both Native Americans and the early settlers. It can be used as a revision activity, preparation for an essay on this topic or as a starter or plenary. It can be used alongside any of the main stream text books on the American West or even my PowerPoint on this topic which can be downloaded via The History Academy TES shop.

The aims and objectives are:

Theme: The American West
Know: What impact did the gold rush have on the West?
Understand: What impact did the gold rush have on both Native Americans and settlers.
Evaluate: What were the most significant negative and positive consequences?
Skills: Cause, Consequence, Significance and Interpretation

WILF: What Am I Looking For:
Identify & describe the impact of the gold rush on the USA & the West.
Explain the positive and negative impact on both the Native Americans and settlers.
Analyse and come to a judgement on who benefitted from the gold rush?

Task 1: Sort the consequences under the two headings
Task 2: Number the positive and negative changes to show the level of their importance for each column.
Task 3: Create a color code using a pen or a highlighter to show which consequences were negative for Native Americans

If you like this resource then why not check out my other resources on this topic in my TES shop. You can also follow ‘The History Academy’ on Twitter, Google Plus, YouTube and Facebook for the latest updates or even to get in touch and chat about how you have used this resource or to ask questions. We aim to produce cheap and affordable resources for either the price of a good cup of coffee so that you can spend more time doing the things that you want.

Anyway, have fun and stay in touch via social media for the latest updates.

Kind Regards

Roy