SS10 Cariboo Gold RushBrochure Project

INTRODUCTION:

In chapter 6 of your Horizons text, you learn about the forces that shaped the beginnings of our province, British Columbia. Many of the early settlers came to BC in search of the ever alluring mineral that is gold. Although many left empty-handed or with scraps, the lure of great fortune and prosperity drew many people from all over North America (and indeed, the world) to Canada’s westernmost province.

For your project, you will need to create a brochure based on the events and people behind the Cariboo Gold Rush and driving forces behind the creation of British Columbia as a province. The brochure will be based on a hypothetical, make-believe mining town based on historical facts and research, focus on a particular historical character, and reflect the views and life experiences of people living in the gold rush era in BC (1860’s). Much like the newspaper, your brochure should be a time capsule of sorts, a peek through the window to the past. A great project should capture the sense of excitement and adventure of the Cariboo Gold Rush.

You will be required to work in groups of 3 – 5 for this project. If you are working in a group of 5, however, I will be expecting more since you have more group members. Three to four members per group is ideal for this project. The brochure does not have to be on special paper or printed in colour – printing on regular letter-sized paper is fine.

ASSESSMENT BREAKDOWN:

BROCHURE

1. Gold mining town info (buildings, people, culture and climate)/ 10

2. Journal of a gold prospector (incl. details on supplies and hardships)/ 10

3. Ads that reflect the time period (incl. one encouraging settlement)/ 10

4. Map of the Cariboo Wagon Road w/ notes/ 10

5. Minority group influences OR historical figure during Gold Rush/ 10

6. Essence of time period is captured/ 10

7. Overall effort on the project (visuals and research)/ 10

TOTAL:/ 70

DUE DATE:

The entire project is due on Aug. 1, 2013. There is NO presentation component to this project. A peer assessment form will be completed upon completion of the project.

PROJECT ADVICE/POINTERS:

1. Your job is to create a fictional, make-believe gold rush town. To create the town, you can draw from real life examples such as Barkerville or Richfield. As you are making a travel brochure, you should highlight some buildings and attractions that would appear in a gold rush town. Perhaps include a town map as to where people can lodge (stay) or purchase supplies. The key here is to rely on real life examples to help you create a BC town that might have existed during the Cariboo Gold Rush.

2. Similar to what you did as part of your Ch. 1 project, you are required to create journal entries of a gold prospector aiming to make it rich. Your text does a decent job of describing some of the expectations, working conditions, and harsh realities of the search for gold. You will definitely need to do some additional research to supplement what is in the text. You will need 5 – 6 entries (paragraphs) for the journal (roughly over the span of a week of work).

3. Throughout your brochure, you should have ads (much like your newspaper project) that reflect the late 1860s and 1870s time period in BC. Your ads should promote supplies that many of the prospectors and inhabitants of the gold rush towns actually needed. There should also be one larger ad promoting settlement with an aim to attract more individuals to a “booming” gold town. You need a minimum of 2 small ads and 1 larger ad encouraging settlement.

4. You should have a rough map of the Cariboo region and significant landmarks during the gold rush period. This is a lot like the map you might have done for your Ch. 5 project (unless your group did a timeline). You do not have to hand draw the map if you can find it on the internet or in your text. The key is to have one or two pointers detailing 5 – 6 important sites on the map.

5. For component number five, you have the option of writing a brief section on minorities (including women during the gold rush) OR on a famous historical figure during the Cariboo gold rush. Billy Barker, for example, is someone that you may wish to write about. Walter Moberly is another. Of course, if you choose another historical individual related to the gold rush, let me know and I’ll note it down. This part should take up roughly a “page” or 2 of your brochure.

NOTES

- Your brochure should be printed on regular letter-sized paper. We will go over how to format a brochure in class. If you think of a piece of paper being divided into 8 sections (4 on the front and 4 on the back) and folded up, that’s what your completed project should look like.

- Web site resources:

1. BC Heritage: (various links, including the one below)

2. BC Heritage (specific to Gold Rush):