Regions of California

• How do climate and geography vary throughout the state?

• How do these features affect how people live?

Native Californian Settlements and People

• What was life like for native Californians before other settlers arrived?

• How did the diverse geography and climate affect native people?

• Why did the houses of the Native Californians vary so much?

• What natural resources were necessary to sustain human life?

European Exploration and Colonial History

• Why did Europeans come to California?

• How did European explorers change the region?

• How did the region’s geography impact settlement?

Missions, Ranchos, and the Mexican War for Independence

• Why did Spain establish missions? How did they gain control?

• How were the lives of Native Californians affected by missions?

• How did the region change because of the mission system?

The Gold Rush and Statehood

• How did the discovery of gold change California?

• How did California become part of the United States?

• Why did people come to California?

California as an Agricultural and Industrial Power

• How did California grow after it became a state?

• Why did people choose to move to California in the last half of the nineteenth century?

• What role did immigrants play in California’s economic growth and transportation expansion?

• Why was water important to the growth of California?

California in the Postwar Era: Immigration, Technology, and Cities

• How did California grow in the second half of the twentieth century compared to how it had grown for the previous one hundred years?

• Who came to California?

• What was life like for newly arrived migrants as opposed to people who had lived in the state for many years?

Local, State, and Federal Governments

• How is the state government organized?

• What does the local government do?

• What power does the State of California have?

• What are the rights and responsibilities of Californians in the state and in their communities?