gta sample pages - circle c adventures...the goldtown adventures series is published by kregel...

1- Badge of Honor 3- Canyon of Danger

2- Tunnel of Gold 4- River of Peril

Goldtown Adventures

GoldtownAdventures.com

Four Learning Lapbooks

with study guides

SAMPLE PAGES

Copyright © 2020 by Susan K. Marlow

Permission is granted to copy for members of your household only. For group use, please contact

[email protected] to purchase a classroom/co-op license at $15.00 per title.

The Goldtown Adventures series is published by Kregel Publications.

Lapbooks for the Goldtown Beginnings series (ages 6-9): GoldtownAdventures.com

Lapbooks are also available for the Circle C series at www.CircleCAdventures.com

Circle C Beginnings (ages 6-8), Circle C Stepping Stones (ages 7-10), Circle C Adventures (ages 9-13)

Where do the mini-booklets go? A folder-shaped Layout key is included for each lapbook. This

key is an overview that shows you where the booklets go. here is also a key at the top of each

booklet page that shows where to place the booklet in each folder.

How do I use the book(s) with the lapbook(s)? Each lapbook activity is meant to be completed

after reading a group of two chapters. The contents page shows which lapbook topics go with the

chapters in the book. Each page in the lapbook also shows the chapter(s) to read before beginning

the lapbook study guides and mini-booklet.

The pictures below show how to fold the file folder(s) to create a lapbook. Lapbooks may be

completed and stored separately, or you can glue lapbooks together. The Stepping Stones

lapbooks are intended to be glued as two-folder lapbooks (books 1-2, 3-4, 5-6).

4. To glue the folders together,

apply a generous amount of white

glue to two flaps. Bring the flaps

together and press. Hold together

with paper clips until completely dry.

1. Open up the folder

and flatten it out.2. Fold the first side all the way

over until the tab just touches the

middle crease in the folder. Do not

overlap this crease with the tab.

3. Fold the left-hand side over

just to the crease but not

overlapping it. Your folder

now has two flaps. Run a ruler

down each fold to make the

fold neater and flatter.

5. Repeat with the

remaining file

folders. HINT:

complete the

activities first THEN

glue the folders

together when you

are finished.

SAMPLE PAGES

Goldtown Adventures Book 1

Before You Begin . . . . . . . Fold your lapbook (see p. 2) and create the cover

Chapters 1-3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Frog Legs

Chapters 4-6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The United States in 1864

Chapters 7-9 . . . . . . . Life in a California Gold Camp & in an East Coast City

Chapters 7-9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chores

Chapters 10-12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wild Turkeys

Chapters 13-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Mountain Canary

Chapters 13-15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . How’s Your French?

Chapters 16-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Five Story Elements

Badge of Honor

Cut around on the dotted line and glue to the large, outside cover of your lapbook. If you

plan to glue the lapbooks for books 1 and 2 together, place this piece closer to the top to

leave room for the Tunnel of Gold cover piece. If the lapbooks will be separate, then

you can center this piece on the lapbook cover. Color the picture.

Character Trait: Honor

“Honor your father and your mother . . .” Exodus 20:12

Respecting and obeying those who are in authority over me.

Activities for Badge of Honor

Coulter Ranch

SAMPLE PAGES

Chores

The United

States in

1864

Goldtown

vs.

Boston

Mountain

Canary

5 Story

Elements

How’s

Your

French?

Wild

Turkeys

Frog

Legs

Read the Badge of Honor chapters indicated at the top of the following pages. Then

complete the activities for those chapters. This is a one-folder lapbook. You can add

the other Goldtown Adventures books to expand the lapbook by gluing them (or

together. Use Elmer’s (white) glue for the folders. Use stick glue to glue the booklets

into the folders.

Folder layout for Badge of Honor

Answer key for Badge of Honor

Chapters 1-3: Frog Legs: Answers will vary.

Chapters 4-6: U.S. in 1864: Check the study guide for the colors.

Chapters 7-9: Life in gold camp: small, lawless, dirt streets, noisy, sawdust, muddy,

cold, disease, no sheriffs; Life in Boston: lots of people, factories, jobs, fish canneries,

parks, theaters, paved streets, police, laws, overcrowded.

Chapters 7-9: Chores: answers will vary.

Chapters 10-12: Wild Turkeys: Sounds: gobble, cluck, putt, purr, yelp, whine, cackle,

“kee-kee.” Food: acorns, chestnuts, seeds, grasses, berries, frogs, lizards, snakes, bugs,

etc. Facts: Answers will vary.

Chapters 13-15: Mountain Canary (sample answers): Tools: gold pan, pick, shovel,

knife, etc. Food: beans, cornmeal (answers vary). Other supplies: bedding, clothes, hat,

pots and pans, etc.

Chapters 13-15: French: hello: bonjour; yes: oui; donkey: baudet; child: enfant; father:

pere; good-bye: au revoir

Chapters 16-18: Five Elements (sample answers): CHARACTERS: Jem, Ellie, Nathan,

Pa, Strike, Frenchy, Will, etc. SETTING: Goldtown (sierras, California); STORY

PROBLEM: Jem must come to grips with the fact that his father is the sheriff (or) Jem

must figure out why the creek dried up, etc. PLOT EVENTS: anything that happened in

the story; SOLUTION: Jem learns to be proud of his pa and his job (or) Jem discovers

who was diverting the water to dry up the creek and why.

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Bullfrogs eat anything they can grab and stuff down their throats: rodents, small turtles,

snakes, other frogs, birds, and even bats! Mostly they eat insects, like other frogs do.

The South and Midwest of the United States are the original range for the American

bullfrog. However, these amphibians have been introduced nearly everywhere in the

United States. In 1865, Mark Twain wrote a short story called “The Celebrated Jumping

Frog of Calaveras County,” about a frog-jumping contest in a gold camp in California.

Many people consider frog legs a delicacy. The French and Chinese especially love them.

Only the legs are eaten. They look and taste like chicken drumsticks. Two large legs are

usually enough for one person.

Here is a recipe if you want to try some frog

legs for yourself.

Frog Legs

Frog legs ready to fry up and eat. Note the feet

and toes!

Fried Frog Legs

~6 frogs legs (from 3 large bullfrogs)

~salt and pepper

~lemon juice

~1 egg

~cracker crumbs

Skin frogs’ legs; wash in cold water, then

dry legs.

Season with salt, pepper, and lemon

juice.

Beat the egg; dip the legs in beaten egg.

Roll legs in cracker crumbs and fry in

deep fat at 390°F for 2 or 3 minutes.

In Badge of Honor, Jem makes money by catching and selling

frogs to the café. What kind of frogs does he catch? American

bullfrogs. These big frogs grow from 3½ to 5 inches long, not

including the back legs (for a total length of 7 to 10 inches).

Now, that is a lot of frog meat! Bullfrogs live near large,

permanent bodies of water like swamps, ponds, and lakes.

They are usually found along the water’s edge. On rainy nights,

you might see bullfrogs traveling overland.

To breathe, bullfrogs absorb oxygen and get rid of carbon

dioxide through their moist skin, the lining of the mouth, and

their lungs.

1- Badge of Honor: Chapters 1-3

SAMPLE PAGES

Folder

Read: “Frog Legs”

Directions: Cut out around the frog’s shape on black

lines. Fold in half on dotted line and glue into lapbook.

Inside the booklet, write two or three things you learned

about bullfrogs or frog legs that you did not know before.


Frog Legs

GLUE

SAMPLE PAGES

In 1864 (the setting for Badge of Honor), the United States was engaged in the middle of its bloodiest war in history. It was called by different names (depending on which side you supported): the Civil War, the War Between the States, or the War of Northern Aggression. A rebel wore gray and joined the Confederacy to fight for the South. A Yankee wore blue, was part of the Union army, and fought for the North.

It all began in April 1861 when the South fired on a Union-held fort—Fort Sumter—in South Carolina. President Lincoln could not let that go without responding. The Southern states had hoped to leave the United States peacefully, but Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union at all costs. He believed our country would not survive if it was divided (“A house divided against itself cannot stand”). He called out the US troops to put a stop to the rebellion, and the war began.

Many people think the Civil War was all about slavery. Slavery was terrible, and Lincoln was right to abolish it, but the war was also about something called states’ rights. The South did not want the federal government telling them what each state could or could not do (like have slaves or not). They fought to preserve the right for the states to decide their own futures.

The North had many advantages like factories, guns, and lots of soldiers. The South had better generals. General Robert E. Lee fought circles around the Northern generals. Sadly, the generals who fought one another had all been on the same side only fifteen years earlier during the Mexican War.

Everybody (both North and South) believed the War would be over quickly. “Just one more battle” was the cry in the beginning. But as the months and years dragged on, the North figured out that the South—in spite of hardly any factories or supplies—were good fighters with excellent battle plans. The South learned that the North’s soldiers did not give up easily.

In July 1863, the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg became the turning point of the war. It turned in the North’s favor. Although the South kept on fighting, everyone knew it was just a matter of time. The South surrendered in April 1865, four years after that fateful first shot at Fort Sumter. Here is a list of the states and which side they were on:

SOUTH: Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia

NORTH: California, Oregon, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Michigan

The United States in 1864


SAMPLE PAGES

Read: “The United States in 1864”

Directions: Cut out the map and fold in half. Cut out the

cover piece and glue onto the outside of the folded map. Glue

into lapbook. Using the states listed in the study guide, color

the northern states (Union) BLUE. Color the southern states

(Confederacy) RED.

Note: There were only 35 states in 1864. The uncolored

states on your map were territories (not states) at the time.

Folder

FOLD HERE

Cover Piece

Th

e U

nit

ed

Sta

tes

in 1

86

4


SAMPLE PAGES

Life in a California Gold Camp

For example, a barrel of flour or a barrel of pork cost $125! A pound of cheese was $1.50. Potatoes cost $1.25/pound, and molasses was $10/gallon!

Miners worked hard all week long. On Sunday, they took the day off, but most did not go to church (there were few churches in the early days of the gold rush). They spent Sundays doing their laundry, writing letters home, or—more often—drinking and gambling in town. They lost a lot of their gold dust this way.

The gold camps were quite lawless. Stealing, lying, swearing, drinking, gambling, and even murder were commonplace. Gambling was the worst evil. Miners lost thousands of dollars a night. Even small boys brought in $5.00 or $10.00 (the same as $115-$225 today). If they lost it, they just went out and panned more gold the next day. This was in the early days before the gold played out. Decent folks worked hard to make laws and carry them out. There were no sheriffs in the early days. Informal miners’ courts tried to keep the worst lawbreakers under control, but there was no official law and order.

There were other ways to find gold besides mining it! Some panned the sawdust from the floor of the gambling halls to get the gold that fell from the miners’ clothing. If a man brought his wife or daughters to a gold camp, they could make a small fortune by doing laundry for the miners. They charged $3.00-$4.00 to wash shirts, and they could pan the gold from the miners’ dusty clothes besides. If they could cook, miners would flock to their homes to buy pies and cakes and other homemade goodies. Many gold camps had no schools. The children spent their days roaming the countryside and panning for gold alongside their parents. Churches were also in short supply.

Gold camps were hot, dry, dusty places in the summer and rainy, freezing, mudholes during the winter. Fires often swept through towns and burned them to the ground. Most miners did not strike it rich and either found a new way to make a living (like becoming a shopkeeper, bartender, or rancher) or went back east to the “States.” Many miners died of disease from the poor diet and harsh living conditions. Those who stayed went on to help California grow into a thriving state.

“There is a good deal of sin and wickedness going on here.”

~ Sheldon Shufelt, California prospector, in a letter dated March 1850, written from the gold camp Hangtown (Placerville).

Not a lot of families came to California to find gold at first. Most

were single men. To save expenses, they often lived together,

sometimes as many as six miners in one tiny cabin (or tent). The

miners’ diet was poor, and the food was expensive.


SAMPLE PAGES

Life in an East Coast City

During the mid-1800s, the eastern part of the United States was booming. Immigrants from Europe flooded cities like Boston and New York City, looking for a better life than what they experienced on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. In 1860 Boston had a population of more than 177,000 people. A gold town was considered large if it was home to 5,000 miners. Even San Francisco, which saw a huge increase in population because of the gold rush, was about half the size of Boston in 1860.

Why did so many people live in the cities? For one thing, the Industrial Revolution was in full swing. Most factories were located in the cities and provided jobs for thousands of men, women, and . . . yes . . . even children. Iron works, cotton mills, fish canneries—life was busy around the clock. A person did not make much money and worked long hours (twelve hours or more). The factories were not run with the workers’ safety or health in mind, either. Machinery could snap off a finger. Long hair could be caught in a spinning spool of cotton.

Life in the city was a bit different for merchants, bankers, and others of wealth and influence. Beautiful homes and parks dotted parts of the cities far away from the crowded tenements where the poor lived.

Cities were full of fine shops, paved streets, horse-drawn trolley cars, schools, restaurants, theaters, taverns, and churches. Police patrolled and kept order. There were laws, courthouses, and judges.

But most cities were overcrowded, dirty, and full of disease. Is it any wonder that thousands left the crowded conditions and headed west at the first news of gold?

young boys at work in a factory

(Lewis Hine/Library of Congress)


SAMPLE PAGES

Read: “Life in a California Gold Camp” and “Life in an East

Coast City.” Even though they are cousins, Jem and Nathan come

from two very different backgrounds.

Directions: Cut out as one piece. Hotdog fold in half. Cut on the

dotted black line to form 2 flaps. Glue into lapbook.

Under each flap, see how many differences you can list between

living in the city of Boston and living in a gold camp like Goldtown.

Folder

Goldtown

Boston

CUT

HERE

FOLD LINE


GLUE

SAMPLE PAGES

Review chapters 8 & 9 focusing on the Coulter kids’ chores.

Directions: Cut out the booklet as one piece. Fold in half. Cut out the

cover piece and glue onto front of booklet. Glue into lapbook.

Think about the chores Jem and Ellie do to help out around the ranch.

Think about other chores they might do inside the house. Now think about

the chores you and your siblings do around the house and yard. Fill out

the Venn diagram by showing the differences between your chores and

Jem and Ellie’s chores. If some of the chores are the same, list those in

the space where the circles intersect.

My ChoresThe Coulter

Kids’ Chores

Folder

Ch

ore

s:

Th

en

& N

ow

Cover

Piece


SAMPLE PAGES

Stars

"Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them," God told

Abraham (Genesis 15:5 NKJV). Of course, Abraham couldn’t count them, and neither can

we. We might be able to see between 2,000 and 6,000 stars with the unaided eye (if it is

dark enough). But beyond that . . . trillions and trillions of stars. Uncountable!

What exactly is a star? It is a massive ball of burning gases held together by gravity. The

nearest star to us is the sun. If we look at it with eye protection, we can see it is a sphere

(round like a ball). But most stars are so far away that they appear only as points of light in

the sky even through a telescope.

God made the stars on the fourth day of creation, along with the sun and the moon. His

purpose was so they could be for “signs and seasons.” The stars seem to line up like “dot-

to-dots” to form pictures in the sky called constellations. They march across the sky in

perfect order “declaring the glory of God” (See Psalm 19:1).

Stars come in many sizes, from a tiny dwarf star the size of Earth to a massive red giant

100 times bigger than our sun (and a million Earths could fit inside our sun!). Stars come in

different colors too. The color of a star tells how hot or cool it is (although no star is really

“cool”). The hottest stars are blue-white. Then come white, yellow, orange, and red—the

“coolest” stars. Our sun is a yellow star, with a temperature of only about 10,000 degrees.

Ouch!

Jem tossed a small branch on the fire and watched sparks leap into the air. He followed them

with his eyes until they blinked out. Then he looked up and saw the stars. It made him feel a little

tingly, seeing the stars so close. It made God feel close too. “Maybe counting stars will keep me

awake,” he murmured. Then he chuckled. There were too many stars to count. ~ Chapter 18

50,000 - 100,000 degrees

3,000 – 6,000 degrees

6,000 – 8,500 degrees

8,500 – 10,500 degrees

10,500 – 50,000 degrees

STAR COLORS AND TEMPERATURES

Betelgeuse

Rigel

Aldebaran

CapellaProcyon

Sirius

Our Sun

COMPARING

STAR SIZES

3- Canyon of Danger: Chapters 16-19

SAMPLE PAGES

Folder Read “Stars.” Color the round stars according to their

temperatures. Next, cut out and stack in order, with

the coolest star (cover piece) on top. Staple and glue

into lapbook.

Stars

3,000 – 6,000 degrees

8,500 – 10,500 degrees

3- Canyon of Danger: Chapters 16-19

SAMPLE PAGES

gta sample pages - circle c adventures...the goldtown adventures series is published by kregel...

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