STUDENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Gettysburg National Military Park offers a series of education programs for school groups that visit the park, designed for the enrichment of your students' understanding of the battle and its consequences. These ranger guided programs are only available for approximately six weeks in the Fall (October through November) and eight weeks in the Spring (March through May), and require participation in our September program lottery drawing. If you are interested in being included on our mailing list, send a request on your school's letterhead to the Education Coordinator, Gettysburg National Military Park, 1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite 100, Gettysburg, PA 17325. And remember that preparation of your class with pre-visit activities is essential to a complete and successful program!

STUDENT PROGRAM DATES, 2009-2010

Fall 2009 Program Schedule: September 28 to November 6, 2009.
Spring 2010 Program Schedule: March 29 to May 28, 2010.

STUDENT PROGRAMS FOR 2009-2010

"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"

Students get to walk in the path of these regiments to learn about courage, determination, leadership and teamwork! (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!*

Fall 2009 Student Program Reservation Request Form (pdf)

Spring 2010 Student Program Reservation Request Form (pdf)

Before you submit your request for spring 2010, make certain to check the list of dates still available, posted here:

AVAILABLE DATES FOR SPRING 2010 (pdf)
(updated November 23, 2009)

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"DAY AT THE MUSEUM" PROGRAM

New! Winter programs for K through 4th Grade, January 4 through March 5, 2010!

The park offers a thirty minute program for student groups to use while visiting the new Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitor Center. Each program takes students through the museum galleries followed by an opportunity for hands-on history with uniform items and equipment, costuming, games and much, much more. The programs are:

"Pennsylvania Soldier for the Day"
"Civil War Music and Art"
"Growing Up in Gettysburg, 1863"

*There is a maximum limit of thirty students per program.

 Day at the Museum Reservation Form (pdf)