• Home
• About Us
• Get Involved
• Newsroom
• Land Preservation
• Join CWPT
• Travel and Events
• History Center
  and Classroom
• Shop CWPT

History Center and Classroom
Civil War Field Trip Planning

1.) Select a Civil War site
Civil War sites range from plantation homes to cemeteries, from stops on the Underground Railroad to battlefield parks. The Civil War Preservation Trust has a list of more than 500 sites across the nation that are part of our Civil War Discovery Trail. Click here to find a Civil War site near your school.

2.) Scout the site
Take a trip to the site on your own to be sure it is appropriate for your students and your curriculum. Many sites will waive entrance fees if you let them know that you are a teacher scouting for a field trip.

3.) Contact the site to arrange for your group
Some sites offer their own programs for school groups or will tailor tours based on your curriculum. Have all the details of your trip on hand (number of students, how long you plan to stay, etc.) and discuss any special needs you might have. Don't forget to ask if the site has restrooms, lunch facilities, or any rules of its own concerning fees, number of chaperons, etc.

4.) Arrange for the trip with your school administration
Follow your county procedures concerning health and safety, permission slips, arranging transporation, hiring substitutes, finding chaperons (if you can't find enough parents, education students from a local college might be available to assist), etc.

5.) Conduct pre-visit activities
Help your students to understand where they are going and why. Many sites have teachers' guides or lesson plans that they can give you before your visit. Or you could show The Civil War Preservation Trust's 12-minute video, The American Civil War, which summarizes the causes that sparked the war and depicts the terrible battles and difficult decisions from Fort Sumter to Appomattox. (The video is $14.95 and teachers have full permission to use it in the classroom. To order a copy, call toll-free 1-800-423-1212, extension 123.)

6.) Plan activities for the bus ride
Keep your students focused on learning rather than on the excitement of being let out of the classroom. For example, in order to learn the definitions of some of the words students might hear on their visit, play a round of Battlefield Bingo with them as you travel to the site.

7.) Go over the rules and regulations
Help your students to remember that battlefields are contemplative spaces. Some visitors appreciate a calm atmosphere. Discuss proper behavior and note any special rules that apply to the site you are visiting. Make sure students know the day's itinerary and when and where to meet if they get separated from the group.

8.) Check in
To minimize confusion when you arrive at the site, check in before you let the students off the bus.

9.) Plan for activities at the site
Coordinate with the site staff to make sure the field trip meets your curriculum goals. Have a back-up plan in case it rains on the day of your visit. If your class has a short attention span, give them a list of questions they need to answer, or objects they need to find while at the site.

10.) Follow-up and assessment
Follow-up activities are essential to assess and reinforce your students' understanding of the lessons they were taught on the field trip. Suggested activities include: asking students to write and perform a short skit about one of the historic events that occurred at the field trip site, having students design their own Civil War monuments, or--if you took a camera on the trip--letting them create a slide show about their visit (you can show this to your class next year as a pre-visit activity!) Or have them write letters to the Civil War Preservation Trust telling where they went and what they learned on their field trip. Send the letters to the Civil War Preservation Trust, 11 Public Square, Suite 200, Hagerstown, MD 21740.