RANGER GUIDED STUDENT PROGRAMS AT GETTYSBURG

The programs we offer student groups that visit the park are designed to provide them with an educational experience while challenging them to understand not only the history of the battle and its aftermath, but take away a sense of why the event is so well remembered in the history of America and still stands today as an integral part of our national heritage. Listed here are the programs we offer- the "Battlefield Footstep Programs" that walk students on the identical ground that specific units tramped over during the battle, and "Civil War Perspectives" which focus on four different themes related to Gettysburg that are also elements of the general experience of both soldiers and civilians during the Civil War.

All of our programs are two hours in length. Teachers can chose one program per visit.

"CIVIL WAR PERSPECTIVES"

Four themed programs designed to provide students with a focused story about the soldiers who served during the Civil War, the harsh reality of medical treatment at this time, the civilian experience at Gettysburg, and the importance of the Soldiers' National Cemetery and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. (Teachers, choose one program per visit.)

Caring for the Wounded
Purpose: To show the damaging effects of the Civil War upon soldiers and civilian life as seen through the eyes of an army doctor. To present the function and operation of the Union Army Medical Department.
Grades: 5 to 12
Class size: 30 max./10 min.
Length: 2 hours
Procedure: Students will participate in discussion and activities which demonstrate the function ad operation of the Army Medical Department, including the set up of a temporary field hospital on a civilian farm. Physical activities include walking, sitting and carrying.

Impact of War: The Slyder Family Farm
Purpose: To focus on a farm family that lived in Gettysburg at the time of the battle and the impact the war had on both civilians and soldiers. The program will introduce students to 19th Century farming practices and to the townspeople of Gettysburg before, during and after the great battle.
Grades: 4 to 8
Class size: 30 max./10 min.
Length: 2 hours
Procedure: Students will hike approximately 1/4 mile down a trail on the western slope of Big Round Top to the Slyder Farm. Several students will roleplay the Slyder family and others will portray the soldiers they encountered on July 2, 1863.

Life of a Civil War Soldier
Purpose: To present the motives for joining the Union Army and the hard, unpleasant, dangerous, and often boring life of a soldier during the Civil War.
Grades: 2 to 6
Class size: 35 max./10 min.
Length: 2 hours
Procedure: Students will participate in discussion and activities that present the training, equipment, life and feelings of the volunteer soldiers. Physical activity involves running, walking, sitting, and standing in formation.

Note: This program is NOT recommended for students who have participated in the Traveling Trunk program, since the purposes and equipment are similar.

"Unfinished Work": The Soldiers' National Cemetery and Gettysburg Address
Purpose: To convey the significance and relevance of the Gettysburg Address and the Gettysburg Soldiers' National Cemetery. To present the battle of Gettysburg from the perspective of its aftermath, destruction and re-building.
Grades: 8 to 12
Class size: 35 max./10 min.
Length: 2 hours
Procedure: Students will participate in small group activities that simulate the process of soldier identification following the Gettysburg battle. They will then read the letters of ten soldiers buried in the cemetery and analyze their contents with Lincoln's Gettysburg Address sentiments.

"BATTLEFIELD FOOTSTEP PROGRAMS"

A unique program that allows students to walk in the path of notable Union or Confederate units on the battlefield, crossing over the same terrain these organizations did with the same point of view the soldiers of 1863 had. Each program has a different theme for the class to focus on: courage, determination, leadership, or teamwork. Students will discover how that theme was often the key to victory or defeat! (Teachers, choose one program per visit.)

 
Courage & The 9th Massachusetts Battery
“Retreat by prolonge, firing!” is the order as your unit is sacrificed to buy time for the infantry to plug the gaps along Cemetery Ridge. Follow in the path and harried activity of this courageous artillery unit.
GRADES: 4 to 12
CLASS SIZE: 50 max./15 min.
LENGTH: 1 1/2 hours

Determination & The 15th Alabama Infantry
Climb Big Round Top and attack Little Round Top after a forced march, and without any water! This program illustrates the strength, stamina and determination of these Confederate infantrymen.
GRADES: 4 to 12
CLASS SIZE: 50 max./15 min.
LENGTH: 1 1/2 hours

Leadership & The 6th Wisconsin Infantry
“Align on the Colors” with Lt. Colonel Rufus Dawes, on July 1st, 1863 as you rush toward an unfinished railroad cut filled with firing Confederate soldiers. Will the cut continue to serve as their cover, or will it become their trap? Leadership will determine the day.
GRADES: 4 to 12
CLASS SIZE: 50 max./15 min.
LENGTH: 1 1/2 hours

Teamwork & Pickett's Division, July 3rd
Walk in formation across the field of "Pickett's Charge", approximately one mile, role-playing individual soldiers. Group unity and participation are stressed. The program makes use of firsthand accounts of the action and actual field obstacles to bring the event to life.
GRADES: 4 to 12
CLASS SIZE: 50 max./ 15 min.
LENGTH: 2 hours

*PREPARING YOUR CLASS WITH PRE-VISIT ACTIVITIES IS A REQUIREMENT FOR SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS!*

Home School Fair, The Presidents at Gettysburg

Winter activity for K through 4th Grade, February 16, 2012!

This winter, the park offers a full day of activities for home schooled students to participate in while visiting the new Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. This year's offering will look at the two presidents most closely associated with Gettysburg- Abraham Lincoln and Dwight D. Eisenhower and the very different circumstances that brought each to Gettysburg!

The HOMESCHOOL FAIR on February 16 is completely booked. If you would like to be added to the Waiting List in the event of cancellations (which are probable), please ask for a Reservation Request Form e-mail us and leave a fax number for us to send a reservation form.

Inclement weather date is February 23, 2012.