Admission Day, September 9, was a state holiday when I was a girl. Today we look at our history with a more critical eye to get a better understanding of the human condition. California became the 31st state to join the Union on September 9, 1850, not long after gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 in Coloma. By 1869 the first westbound train arrived in San Francisco thanks in no small part to the Chinese and Irish Immigrants yet in 1882, Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act which banned all Chinese immigration.
California History is the fourth grade curriculum throughout California. Here at Sts. Peter & Paul’s we use the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt History/Social Science textbook and follow the California State Standards and the Archdiocesan Curriculum Guidelines. Students in fourth grade explore history, indigenous people of California, the Spanish and Russian influence in our history, the California Missions, the Gold Rush, immigration to the Golden State, and of course geography.
You might want to check out some of these links to learn more about the great state of California and you too can exclaim Eureka! I have found it!
- California Kids Page, Just for Kids State of California
- Kids Zone, California Museum
- Houghton Mifflin GeoNet Game
- Learn California
- California Historical Society, History Online
- Library of Congress, California History Collection
- National Geographic Kids
- The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
Graphic from Flickr Creative Commons by kevincole.
