As far as many 4th graders are concerned, California history stopped at the Gold Rush. Nothing significant has happened since.
The problem is many teachers run out of school year before they run out of history! Gold Rush gets covered, the transcontinental railroad and westward movement gets mentioned, and the 20th century gets ignored.
We wanted to create a lesson that would hit the highlights of the early to mid-twentieth century in a quick and entertaining way. Since this is the 100th anniversary of two major expositions in San Francisco and San Diego, we decided to take students back in time...to 1915 and the Age of Innovation. Kids will view California through the eyes of a visitor to the magnificent California Panama Exposition and Panama Pacific International Exposition.
