Gettysburg National Military Park - For Teachers (U.S. National Park Service)

National Park Service

Young visitors participate in our "Join the Army" program.

February 27, 2009

Dear Educator,

WELCOME to a new school year! It certainly has been a busy one and Gettysburg has been no exception. All of our Fall Programs were successful and our Spring Program Schedule is now fully booked. We will provide teachers with a new Gettysburg School Year Planner for all curriculum-based offerings during the 2009-2010 school year in August. In the mean time, you are welcome to review our offerings listed on these pages. The park offers fall and spring student programs at the park, winter classroom visits, quarterly teacher workshops and traveling trunks. We invite the participation of your entire district. . . please pass along and post the enclosed information for your colleagues!

FALL PROGRAMS. Reservations for Fall programs will be taken for the 2009-2010 school year in August, once the schedule has been completed. Fall is the best time to come to Gettysburg with your students. . . the weather is great, your students are fresh, and the crowds are minimal. Consider a Fall program!

SPRING PROGRAMS. Our Spring 2009 Program Schedule is fully booked! A new schedule of spring dates will be announced prior to the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year. We are rarely able to accommodate all spring season requests, so please remember that flexibility with dates and times on the request will be to your benefit.

TEACHER WORKSHOPS are offered this fall, winter, and spring. . . providing a full day of undivided attention for you to preview and plan all of your field trip activities.

CIVIL WAR STORYTELLING for Kindergarten through 3^rd graders takes place in January and February. This year’s program, “Civil War Show & Tell”, featured real Civil War objects of all shapes and sizes, and the stories that go along with them.

And finally . . .

TRAVELING TRUNKS on the life of the Civil War Soldier are available once again and can be reserved through the trunk lottery. Please see the section on this page about the trunks and follow the links to reserve a trunk.

All Reservation Requests should be sent to:

Education Specialist

Gettysburg National Military Park

1195 Baltimore Pike, Suite100

Gettysburg, PA 17325

All of us at Gettysburg send our best wishes for a successful school year and thank you for allowing us to be a part of yours!

Barbara J. Sanders
Education Specialist

(NPS)

STUDENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT GETTYSBURG

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 two hour ranger led 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. Check our Plan A Field Trip page for information and descriptions of these programs.

TRAVELING TRUNKS

If your students cannot get to the battlefield, Gettysburg National Military Park is pleased to offer you our Civil War Traveling Trunk. Through various clothing items, military accoutrements, pastime activities, photographs, literature and music, students will be able to appreciate what the daily life of a Civil War soldier was actually like. The curriculum and clothing in the trunk is targeted for the 5th grade student but it can be made adaptable for students in grades 4 to 8. You may set up the six learning stations in your classroom or use a common room so that the whole school can become involved.

So, how do you reserve one for your class? Check the Traveling Trunks page for more information!