California Geographic Alliance
Lesson Plan
The Bear Flag Revolt: Independence Declared Too Late
Author(s): Joe Bolin and Mindy Trees
Grade: 4th
Subject: Geography, History/Social Sciences
California Academic History/Social Science
Content Standards: • Standard 4.3 – Students explain the economic, social,
and political life in California from the establishment of the
Bear Flag Republic through the Mexican-American War,
the Gold Rush, and the granting of statehood.
• Standard 4.3.1 - Identify the locations of Mexican
settlements in California and those of other settlements,
including Fort Ross and Sutter’s Fort.
• Standard 4.3.2 - Compare how and why people
traveled to California and the routes they traveled (e.g.,
James Beckwourth, John Bidwell, John C. Fremont, Pio
Pico).
Visual and Performing Arts
• Standard 4.5.3 – Visual Literacy. Construct diagrams,
maps, graphs, timelines, and illustrations to communicate
ideas of tell a story about a historical event.
Reading and Language Arts
• Writing Standard 4.1.3 - Use traditional structures for
conveying information (e.g., chronological order, cause
and effect, similarity and difference, and posing and
answering a question).
Objectives: • Students will demonstrate an understanding of the
events surrounding the Bear Flag Revolt by creating an
illustrated timeline in the form of a foldable. In addition to
illustrations, the foldable will show event dates and
summaries.
• Using the appropriate CGA California Atlas maps,
students will:
- identify the route taken by John C. Fremont to
reach California in 1845
- identify the barriers to timely communication
between California and the United States of
America in 1846
- reach conclusions about the reasons behind the
Bear Flag Revolt
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California Geographic Alliance
Lesson Plan
Instructional Questioning: What can you infer concerning the
Strategy: importance of the movement of people upon the Bear Flag
Revolt?
Teacher Background: Teachers of this lesson will need a clear understanding of
the events surrounding the Bear Flag Revolt and the
Mexican-American War.
Student Background: Students should have an understanding of the concept of
Manifest Destiny as it was viewed in the mid-1800s.
Students should also be aware that much of California’s
land was given to Californios and Mexican citizens in land
grants.
Students should be familiar with California’s geographic
regions and the difficulties travelers faced in coming to our
state.
Essential Question: • How is land organized?
• How do people move throughout California and the
United States?
• Why do people come to California?
• What is the significance of this location?
• How is the location related to other locations within the
state?
Instructional • CGA Atlas
Materials: • District-adopted textbook
• John Charles Fremont: Western Pathfinder by Barbara
Witteman (Capstone Press, 2003)
• I am Vallejo! By Belén Garcia-Alvarado and Alan Venable
(Start-to-Finish Library, 2007); also available as audiobook
Resources: CGA Atlas, especially the following maps:
• Exploration and Early Settlement,
• Physical Geography,
• United States map of 1846, showing California,
and
• Mexican Land Grants.
Duration: Three days (approximately one hour per day, equally
divided between instruction/discussion and worktime).
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California Geographic Alliance
Lesson Plan
Procedure
Introduction/ Ask students, “Did you know that California was an
Anticipatory Set: independent country for a little more than three weeks?”
Show the map “United States in 1846.”
Ask the question, “How long did it take people and the
information they carried to reach California from the
United States?” Show the “California Physical Geography”
map, emphasizing the various regions a traveler would
encounter.
Give students time to discuss in small groups and share
back with class.
Instruction: 1. After listening to brief biographies of two key figures
from the Bear Flag Revolt (Fremont and Vallejo), students
will use California Atlas maps (“Mexican Land Grants” and
“Exploration and Early Settlement”) to discover where the
lives of these men crossed in 1846.
2. If available, students should also read lesson(s) in the
textbook which relate to the Bear Flag Revolt.
Guided Practice: With teacher guidance, students will place the following
events on a timeline:
• May 13, 1846 – United States declares war on Mexico
• June 14, 1846 – American settlers raise the bear flag
over Sonoma and declare California’s independence from
Mexico
• July 9, 1846 – United States flag raised over Sonoma in
place of California Republic Bear Flag
• January 13, 1847 – Treaty of Cahuenga is signed,
ending the war
Independent Students will create a four-tab book foldable by following
Practice: these directions:
• Fold a 12” x 18” sheet of paper in half like a hot dog,
leaving one inch uncovered (this is the space in which
childen will write dates).
• Fold this long rectangle in half like a hamburger.
• Fold the resulting rectangle in half again.
• On the short side, make vertical cuts through one
thickness of paper, forming four tabs.
In the one-inch strip below the flaps, students should copy
the key dates from the timeline they created during the
“Guided Practice” session.
• Above these dates, students may illustrate or write a
short summary of the event which occurred on the date.
• On top of the flap, students can name the event for that
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California Geographic Alliance
Lesson Plan
date.
Closure: At the end of the first day of instruction, bring the
students together and ask the following questions:
• “What would it have been like to travel to California in
1846, as John Fremont did?” Ensure that students have a
clear understanding of the geographic obstacles travelers
faced, such as mountains and deserts.
• “Why was the United States interested in gaining control
of the Mexican territory of California?” Ensure that the
children understand that the concept of Manifest Destiny
played an important role in this interest. Rich resources
throughout California’s various regions was attractive to
many countries including the United States.
At the end of the second day of instruction, ask the
following questions:
“Which event happened first: the United States declared
war on Mexico or American settlers in California declared
independence from Mexico?” Ensure that all students
understand that the U.S. declared war on Mexico before
the settlers declared independence.
“Why did American settlers in California form the California
Republic if the U.S.A. had already declared war on
Mexico?” Ensure that students understand that
communication was very slow between the U.S. and
California in 1846. As a result, the settlers did not know
about the declaration of war until two months after it had
happened.
When all students have completed their illustrated
timelines, give time for sharing work. You may wish to
display the illustrated timelines throughout the classroom.
Assessment: Assessment is based on the accuracy of the illustrated
timeline as well as a one-paragraph response to this
question:
Critical Thinking Question: Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo
was an official with the Mexican government in California.
How did he react to the declaration of independence made
by the American settlers in California? Had you been in
Colonel Vallejo’s position, how would you have reacted to
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California Geographic Alliance
Lesson Plan
the declaration of independence? Why would you have
reacted this way?
Extension Activities: • Following discussion about the use of symbols on the
earliest flag of the California Republic (a grizzly bear and a
star), students may design a personal, classroom, or
community flag making use of an appropriate symbol(s).
• A read-aloud book appropriate to the time period and
grade level is Dear America: Valley of the Moon: The Diary
of Maria Rosalia de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta
California, 1846 by Sherry Garland
Reflection: To be completed after initial teaching of lesson in
2009/2010 school year.
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