The Big Idea Activity

How do technologies change peoples lives?

Conduct an Interview
About How Life Changed

Mission St. Thomas the Apostle

Mission St. Thomas the Apostle, Los Angeles

Conduct an interview about changes in the lives of one group of people during California's early history. You will interview a classmate, who will take the role of a person from that group. California Standard 4.1 Students demonstrate an understanding of the physical and human geographic features that define places and regions in California. California Standard 4.2 Students describe the social, political, cultural, and economic life and interactions among people of California from the pre-Columbian societies to the Spanish mission and Mexican rancho periods.

Research RoadmapPrint the Research Roadmap. Use it to take notes and hand it in to your teacher when you make your presentation.

 

Topic Finder

Need help finding a topic? Explore these ideas for research...California Missions.

Case Study

Here's an example of a topic you could choose for the Big Idea Activity: Do you remember that the Spanish built missions to convert Native Americans to Christianity and to change their way of life? Suppose you could interview a Native American about how life changed after he or she moved to a mission. What might that person say had changed the most?

Fun FactsOlder Yurok boys played a sport called "tossle," which is like a cross between lacrosse and soccer!

 
 

Share with your classmates one of your beliefs about how something in nature began. Then, listen to a Yurok story about how the ocean was made. Finally, read Chumash sky stories.

Yurok Creation Story

Chumash Sky Stories

 
 

The First People of California

Maidu Indians

Find out how the Maidu believed the world began and more ways they used acorns.

Southern and Central Peoples

What was life like for Native Americans in southern and central California? The first paragraph tells you.

Great Basin and Colorado River

Research facts about the Paiute, Mohave, and Cahuilla peoples.

Northwest and Northeast Peoples

Compare the climates, ways of travel and farming, and governments of the Yurok, Modoc, and Achumawi as well as other peoples.

The Spanish Claim California

Explore the voyage of Spanish explorer Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. He led the first European expedition to what is now California. Scroll down to read about Exploring California.

Exploring California

Newcomers to California

Follow the timeline showing when European explorers and others arrived in California. What English explorer sailed up the coast of California in 1579?

Spanish Colonial California

A Plan for Alta California

Follow the life of José de Gálvez, who once held more power than any other person in the colony of New Spain.

The Impact of the Missions

The lives of Native Americans changed in every way after they began living in the missions or on rancherías. Think about how a Native American young person might feel about having some freedoms taken away.

Building a Colony

Review how Spain took about two hundred years after landing in what is now California to build a colony there.