Fifth Grade Imagines Life as Soldiers, Medics in Gettysburg

Fifth grade had an amazing trip to Gettysburg. 

We arrived at the Gettysburg National Military Park and we went up into an Observation tower that was over 75 feet high!  We looked out over the entire Gettysburg battlefield. Then we went to the Pennsylvania monument and took a picture in front of it. 

After lunch, Ranger Matt Atkinson took a group of fifth-graders and turned them into soldiers of the 28th Virginia Infantry Regiment. Students were marching as soldiers and practiced commands such as forward march, company halt, about face and more. The fifth grade soldiers marched over a mile through the fields of Gettysburg. They even  climbed a fence and jumped over the other side. 

Then fifth grade went to the Visitor Center and watched a movie narrated by Morgan Freeman, “The Birth of Freedom.” Afterwards we experienced the Gettysburg Cyclorama. This is a massive painting of Pickett’s Charge on the decisive third day of the Battle. Before movies, IMAX and virtual reality there were cycloramas.  Cycloramas would depict epic battles and historic places while surrounding a person in a 360- degree, hand-painted canvas longer than a football field and taller than a four-story building. The Cyclorama at Gettysburg was created by French artist Paul Philippoteaux in 1884. 

After going through the museum we headed to our overnight camp.  At Camp Eder, we sang songs, played charades and made towers out of marshmallows and pasta. 

On Friday, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast of french toast, sausage, fresh fruit and so much more. Then we headed back to Gettysburg. Ranger Barbara Sanders taught all about the field hospital.  At the field hospital the fifth graders said the army oath of allegiance and the hippocratic oath; the latter is still commonly said by many health professionals. 

Students then had the opportunity to set up a medical camp; complete with a tent, stretcher, and an operating table. Through various role-playing exercises students were able to step into the world of the medical professionals who worked at Gettysburg during the battle. They got a chance to practice diagnosing and treating the many sick, injured and dying soldiers.