Pirates Unit

Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing

Today was a great afternoon to dive into the article.  Rain coming down, cloudy skies, and laying under my “bank” with squish under my head.

I am realizing more and more how beneficial these blogs actually are!! I am learning by each article I read what else I can add to a blog to make them even more useful.  I enjoy the idea that Social Studies can be incorporated with technology.  Students are able to use new technology while learning history.  They mold together and create such an exciting scene!  Social Studies can now be innovative and students can interact with each other on these blogs and learn at the same time.   Reliable Social Studies websites that were included in this article were key to making the article “come to life” and reliable.  I am happy to have websites that I can use to make blogging and Social Studies come together.

It will take me quite a while to get used to blogging and using this as an innovative tool for my students, but boy is it well worth it!!  I’m sure I will learn even more as I go day to day, but I can’t wait for my students to learn all about this!!!

Pirates

The Pirates article was interesting because I was introduced to Twin Text and pairing fiction and non-fiction books.  I enjoy that idea because students can not only explore and use their imagination with ficiton, they can also learn facts from non-fiction and notice that between the two the story could closely resemble their facts.  This will intrigue students and they will want to learn more about the unit they are discussing.  To allow students to roam around a room and learn on their own about Pirates or what they think Pirates are is a great idea.  This allows their brains to start working and the wheels to start turning in their minds and get a feel for what they are about to tackle in the classroom.

The Pirate Journal/Notebooks really helps students stay organized and allows them to have an entire journal just on that subject.  All of their questions, definitions, pictures, anything are all in one place.  From beginning to end they can look back at what they did not know at the beginning and how those questions are getting answered.  It seems to start off very broad and slowly narrow as the unit goes on which does not overwhelm the student.  The Pirates Pullout read really focused on students digging deeper, visiting and revisiting their book and really understanding what they are reading.  I think this helps students develop a discipline of how important re-reading is and really taking apart a text.

The Not so Jolly Roger

I really enjoyed this book and think my students would as well.  It was a simplistic read and took the reader on an adventure.  Boys and girls could relate to this because the boys in the book could be around the students age, and they are looking for a treasure and run into pirates.  Not only the pirate/treasure theme in the book, there is magic.  The boys are able to travel in time and students could write great imaginative stories based off of reading this book.

I also like how in class Dr. Frye read a few pages from the book as an example of how to read to or with your students.  I think asking questions is the key to a students understanding of what they are reading throughout the book.

I Poem

I am Blackbeard

I am intimidating and captivating

I wonder how many ships I can conquer

I hear men screaming

I want all the treasure the Atlantic Coast has to offer

I am Blackbeard

I pretend I am on the only Pirate

I feel I am feared

I touch my treasures like they are fragile pieces of glass

I worry that men stop working on my ship because they may die

I cry when I do not get enough treasure

I am Blackbeard

I understand I may come off tough

I say come on my journey

I dream  of all people being pirates

I try to master my trickery

I hope others do not catch on

I am Blackbeard

REVISED!

I Poem

I am Edward Teach, Blackbeard, a pirate, and privateer

I am intimidating and captivating

I wonder how many ships I can conquer in one week

I hear men shriek aboard a ship I have ambushed

I want all the treasure the Atlantic Coast has to offer

I am Edward Teach, Blackbeard, a pirate, and privateer

I pretend I am on the only pirate on earth

I feel I am feared by my own crew members

I touch my treasures like they are fragile pieces of glass

I worry that men stop working on my ship because they may die because of one of my 8 pistols

I cry when I do not get enough treasure and my rum has run out

I am Edward Teach, Blackbeard, a pirate, and privateer

I understand I may come off tough and careless

I say come on my journey to hear the cannonballs and see their smoke

I dream  of all people becoming pirates and joining me on my ship

I try to master my trickery to defeat death and ambush ships

I hope others do not catch on or my death will soon be here

I am Edward Teach, Blackbeard, a pirate, and privateer.

Retrieved October 16, 2009, from

http://www.isd12.org/BHE/Archives/Activities/Pirates/Bios/Blackbeard/blackbeard.jpg

DED

Double entry diaries are a great way to emerse students into their text.  Not only does it check for students understanding, it allows students to feed off of each other.  I like that the structure of DEDs is loose; 2 columns with any type of questions or ideas.  This allows students to catch different things while they read and share them with their groups or partner.  This is a great way for teachers to easily check work as well and make sure students are understanding the concepts of the book and reading the right pages.

Pirate DEDs

Section 1

Part A pp 1-13

Question: Why was Will upset when The Sally Anne wasn’t there once they reached Charleston?   What did he and Jack then do? (pg 7)	Possible answer: Will and Jack were supposed to board this ship and it had sailed early.  Will was informed the Greyhound was looking for fit and able men and Will and Jack went to the Greyhound to find work.
Quote: “Why should we Americans pay taxes to an English king who cares nothing about us and gives us no say in the way our affairs are run? (pg 13)	Opinion: It seems the men aboard ship don’t think they should have to pay taxes.  I think we should read further to see how they will try to avoid paying.
Quote: “Until today, Will had been looking after me and setting me chores.  But as a jest on my family name, the captain has given me a job as a servant to Adam, the carpenter.”	Cause and effect: Because Jack’s last name is Carpenter the captain found humor in telling Jack to work with Adam, the carpenter.
Quote: “I lost a bucket overboard … “But then, suddenly, I heard Will cry, “Stop! Spare the lad, Dan, for God’s sake. You’ll kill him with that rope!”(pg 19)	Cause and effect: Jack lost a bucket overboard, therefore he was going to “get to know” the whip’s nine tongues until Uncle Will stopped it and took the beating himself.
Quote: Since we left port a powerful ocean current has slowed our progress.  Noah, our first mate, says, “It is like sailing a ship uphill!” (pg 16)	Author’s Craft: Noah was comparing the powerful to current to the ship going uphill.  We know the ocean doesn’t have hills, so the current must have been very strong.
Quote: Ship’s biscuits (which everyone calls bread) are as hard as nails. (pg 15)	Author’s Craft: The biscuits being hard as nails must mean they do not taste very well.  A simile children can relate to because they all know how hard nails are.

Part B pp 1-21

What if you met a pirate?	Reaction: This plays off of the movie version that everyone thinks about when they think of a pirate.
How would you know a real pirate?	Reaction: Bringing up the aspect of gold earrings and their purpose.
Who got to be a pirate?	Connection: Heard mang time is from the whip on a Navy Ship or a Pirate’s ship.
What did the ship look like?	Reaction: Many used to think all the ships were Frigates.  Now we know there are many different types of pirate ships.
What about sailing?	Connection: Many aboard the ship were very sea sick.
What did pirates do all day?	Connection: Jake went to the bathroom very differently on his ship than they explained that the pirates did.
Who was aboard the ship?	Question: Ancestors made barrels like the men on the ship did.
How did pirates attack the ships?	Reaction: Walking the plank never happened!! Un-like in the Not so Jolly Roger book!

Section 2

Part A (pp 21-37)

Quote: “She has too many guns for her length … and apart from the man at the helm there are just three on the deck.  Where are the rest of the crew?”(pg 22)	Prediction: Before we read on, if there are only three men on deck where do you think the rest of the men are?  Based on the pictures could this be an attack?
Definition: Jolly Roger	The boat coming towards had a Dutch flag up to say they were friends, now these flags on the ships, those are each ship’s Jolly Roger.
Quote: “In the short battle to capture the Greyhound a ball from the second mate’s pistol found its mark and smashed the shin of Ahab, one of the pirates.(pg 27)	Cause and effect: Because of the ship being ambushed, Ahab’s shin was smashed and his leg must be removed if his life is to be saved.
Quote: “Thus, I escaped, as scared as a rabbit in a snare, but otherwise not harmed.”(pg 29)	Author’s Craft: Simile, comparing a scared rabbit to Jake feelings.  Showing just how scared Jake was.
Quote: “We left the island toady, but not before leaving behind the captain and second mate.  This is the meaning of “marooning” that I heard the pirates speak of in their meeting.  As the pirates pushed them roughly from the boat into the surf … “(pg 30)	Definition: Reading on we found the definition of “marooning” was to push off those who worked on your boat into the surf with few supplies.
Quote: “The ten “articles” (or rules) to which we swore.” (pp 32-33)	Read these articles and discuss how they are similar to a government’s rules.

Part B pp 21-31

What about a plunder?	Connection: This was the “stuff” pirates stole, and it wasn’t all gold.  They stole anything that they could sell.
Seadogs?	Connection: Privateers or gentlemen adventurers.  Sir Walter Raleigh was a seadog during his time.
Buccaneers	Reaction: Henry Morgan was the most famous of the Buccaneers.
Freebooters shoes	Connection: Blackbeard was a freebooter in the Not So Jolly Roger and looks different from that story to this book.
Where is all the treasure?	Connection: The treasure wasn’t all buried.  And the treasure as many think wasn’t all gold, it was cocoa and sugar.

Section 3, Part A Pages 37-54

Quote: “I learned from one of his oarsmen that the three ships come from a place called New Providence, an island only a couple of days’ sailing from here” (p. 38)	Inference/Question: New Providence? Isn’t that a place we talked about before we started this book? Where was that again? (Bahamas)
Quote: “A whistle blast was the signal for our attack. Most fled like frightened rabbits, but not their capitano.” (p. 39)	Question: When a writer uses “like or as” what kind of writing is that?   (Simile) Oh yes, he is comparing a crew to frightened rabbits.
Quote: “Without loss of any of our number we captured 350,000 pieces of eight.” “Henry Jennings counted the coins out into piles on a table in his Great Cabin (p. 39)	Reaction: I like the way the author explains “pieces of eight” means coins in the next sentence.
Quote: “The flames in the rigging are a kind of lighting.  There’s even a name for them: Saint Elmo’s fire.” “Then he told me that this saint is the guardian of sailors and that I should call on him when I feared harm.” (p. 42)	Reaction: Flames in the rigging are a kind of lightning really had me wondering what that meant.  I liked when I read on that not only they were called “Saint Elmo’s fire”, but the text explained that the Saint was the guardian of sailors.
Quote: “Look! A mermaid!” “Mermaids are young and beautiful and sit combing their long, blonde hair.  This lass is bald, ugly, and old.  Why, she even has long whiskers, and is as big as a carthorse.” (p. 42-43)	Inference/Question: We know that mermaids are not bald, ugly, and old.  There is a picture at the bottom of the page showing a Manatee.  Could they have had a mix-up?
Quote: “Some of my companions pass the time by carving sea monsters’ teeth into fantastic shapes….” (p. 45)	Reaction: I bet if we read on we will read about more ways the sailor’s pass their time on the ship.   (Stop after each “passed time and new tool” and make sure student’s notice these are other ways.
Quote: “We handed all the sails, put out the large oars (called sweeps) … “ (p. 45)	Reaction: I like how the author gave an alternative to what the Pirates might have called large oars.
Quote: “I waited my turn behind Ben (who was the pirate captain until we chose Noah) … As he lifted it, something shiny clattered into the boat … – and there lay the Dutch saw Adam had lost!” (p. 46)	Inference/Question:  Ben seemed to be in quite a hurry once we dropped the Dutch saw from his bag.  I remember Adam losing his own Dutch saw earlier.  I wonder if Ben picked it up and never gave it back.
Quote: “.. England’s King George declared an Act of Grace, aiming to bring an end to piracy.  Those pirates who swear to give up their trade shall receive a royal pardon, and will not be punished.” (p. 47)	Reaction: Act of Grace seems like the sailors are not sure what to do.  I wonder if we were sailors during this time what we would do.  I think I would like to have the chance to see my family again.
Quote: “… the wind veered rapidly round.  Half an hour later, we spied black cloud moving in from the east.” (p. 48)	Inference/Question: Normally when black cloud and strong winds come around us we see rain and a bad storm.  I wonder what that means when sailors are out to sea.  I bet the next page tells us what they had to do.
Quote: “I shall miss Abraham especially, for he has been a good friend these last few months.” (p. 54)	Reaction: I do not think many sailors make many friends upon the ship.  It seems a good friend is very far and few in between.
Quote: “To my astonishment it was my Uncle Will!  I had thought him certainly dead, but there he was, as alive as I am.” (p. 54)	Inference/Question: How do you think it would feel to believe a loved one is dead and all of the sudden you saw him or her.
Quote: “Will and I have chosen to return home .. “ .. “Will is shouting for me.” (p. 54)	Reaction: I can see Will and Jake’s relationship is so close because Jake wants to show Will everything that went on during his journey.

Part B What if you met a Pirate

How did pirate ships sail? (pp 12-13)

*Foresails fill with wind, unwind the rope and allow the sails to be hoisted into the air.

What did pirates do all day? (pp 14-15)

*Pirates carved wood, ate meals, took turns sailing the ship, made instruments, cups, and containers.

Where did all those pirates go? (pp 30-31)

*Pirates go above and under deck according to the job they have on the ship.

Section IV- Notes for the Reader

Part A

Read pages 56-57 and 28-29 (What if you met a Pirate)

1. Who were the colonists?
   1. 13 British colonies, including North Carolina and South Carolina.  Fled to America because in England they could not worship however they chose and farm land was free/cheap.  Life for the colonists was harsh; some were killed by Native Americans and had rivals: Spanish colonists.  The government in London taxed and controlled the colonists’ trade.  Navigation Acts were instilled, and mostly ignored by the colonists.
2. What are the Navigation Acts?
   1. Colonial people did not like these acts because the laws forced them to accept low prices for the goods they produced.
3. How did the colonists feel about Navigation Acts?
   1. They did not like these Acts.  They sold their produce wherever they could get the best deal- even if this meant sailing to Caribbean ports occupied by the French.  They saw it as fair business dealings.
4. Who were freebooters?
5. Describe the relationship between the colonists and the pirates.
   1. Many colonists were reluctant to turn their backs on those who once protected them.  They aided the pirates by supplying and repairing their ships, and in return the pirates sold them their booty at reduced prices.  These arrangements worked until the pirates’ customers tired of their manners and violence, and no longer welcomed them in colonial ports and harbors.

Part B

Read pages 58-61 and 24-27(What if you met a Pirate)

1. What did you learn about the different kinds of pirates?
   1. The first sailors sailed across the Mediterranean (4,600 years ago).   Pirates were not far behind these sailors.
   2. European coasts were also attacked by pirates.  Vikings sailed the North Sea, Atlantic, and Baltic from Scandinavia.  They raided villages and towns.  Later, Vikings were settlers, founding peaceful colonies in lands they once attacked.
   3. Privateers used merchant ships “men of war”- battleships.  The vessels were called privateers which means “private men of war.”  King Henry III was the first to use them, once war ended they were supposed to return to their peacetime trade.  Raid and plunder were more profitable, so many privateers carried on in peacetime just as they did wartime and became pirates.
   4. Corsairs- 16^th Century.  Fighting ships called galleys were sought to attack other’s ships from Muslim cities.  Corsairs is after cursus which means plunder.  Once Christian ships were captured, they enslaved the crew and its passengers.
   5. New World Pirates- A New World on the far side of the Atlantic was discovered.  Spanish navigators led the explorations of the Caribbean and plundered the wealth of two native American people (Incas and Aztecs).
   6. Buccaneers- New brutal breed of pirates appeared.  Originally lawless hunters from Hispaniola.  Named after “boucan” which meant smoked their meat.  Raided Spanish ships from their island base and became another word for “pirate”.
2. Out of all the pirates mentioned in this section, which ones do you find most interesting? Please explain why.
   1. I think being a “Privateer” would be pretty neat because the King gave a “letter of marque” which was a piracy permit.  I think having a permit to be a pirate would kind of crazy!  I wonder if I was given the permit would I go back to the peacetime trade or want to become a pirate for good.  I’m not sure I’m the type that would want to over-take ships and not be the peacemaker, so I think I wouldn’t enjoy being a pirate.

(Dr. Frye! If you can tell me how to add this as a file from my word document instead of uploading the whole thing onto this page that’d be great!!)

 

All coming to an end ….

I can’t believe it is that time to now teach students and classes are over.  Peter and the Starcatchers has been a great ending to this class! I have discovered how to tie that book and Pirate Diary together if I were to use unit in a classroom.  I feel so much better about my suffering readers and what to do to help them in the classroom as well as my on target readers.  I feel more prepared to administer spelling tests and word wizard is SUCH a great idea to implement into the classroom!  I can not wait for my students to easily learn 5-7 words a week.  I will make sure that I use tier 2 words and not tier 1 words so that my students are actually learning and enjoying!!!  Going through Peter and the Starcatchers book and learning about words and nouns, adjectives, verbs, I have really enjoyed learning how to pick words and passages.  This has been a great class!!!