Discussing these events reveals students' prior knowledge of related science concepts, while authentic group projects help students to refine their knowledge and to explore new concepts and processes. The California Gold Rush of 1849 serves as a focus for the five-week study of rocks and minerals in this unit. Students begin the unit by watching a televised re-creation of the 1848 discovery of gold in California. For their group projects, students then form into teams of five, each of which operates as a new mining company specializing in reopening abandoned mines. Their assignment is to evaluate data from several abandoned mines then select one for reopening.
Some information is obtained through science activities, discovery files, and stories in the module.
Other information is gathered through individual student research. For the five science activities in this unit, students design physical and chemical procedures for separating and quantifying the components in a sample mixture, investigate rock layers using core sampling techniques, and grow crystals under different conditions then identify the characteristics of each group of crystals. Students also learn to interpret a geologic key, to design a robotics device to assist in the mining of minerals, and to classify and identify igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. The unit's four interdisciplinary activities incorporate mathematics, social studies, technology, and writing. The assessment component of this unit consists of rubrics for performance assessments, along with a comprehensive writing assignment employing peer response and self-evaluation.