Pirates

Swashbuckling Adventures on the High Seas
I really like the idea of the Double-Entry Diaries.  I think it helps the teacher see what the student is learning from the text read, and it also lets them put their thoughts about what is read on paper.  When using the Data Retrieval Chart, it gives students the opportunity to learn about citing where they got their information.  This will come in handy in later years when they start doing bibliographies, or work cited pages.  I had never thought about using tea bags or coffee grounds to make a Wanted poster look more authentic.  I  thought that was a really neat idea.  This unit was very easy to follow, and I liked how everything was laid out in just a few short pages.

Twin Text Unit of Study
If I were to walk into a classroom and see many different types of artifacts related to pirates it would definitely pique my curiosity.  I’m sure this was a terrific lead into the KWL chart.  The students should have been able to figure out what they would like to know about pirates based on the articles laid out before them.

I love the idea of having the notebook where each student can keep their own dictionary of pirate words and be able to reference back to what they are wanting to learn.  This would probably make it easier to check off things as you learn more information about a topic.  What If I Met a Pirate? makes answers to some of their questions readily available.

What If You Met a Pirate?
I thought this book was very informative.  I really liked the fact that it is a book that can be picked up, turned to any page, and have a question answered without having to read the entire book.  This book would probably be a great research tool for students who just want to know a little information about a certain topic concerning pirates.  For example, if I wanted to know about the different jobs people had aboard a pirate ship, I could turn to page 16 and the question, “Who was who aboard a pirate ship?”  I really learned a lot of information about pirates by reading this book.  The pictures throughout and the captions that went along with them added just a little more useful information on each page.  I was very shocked to learn that pirates didn’t actually “walk the plank.”  This was all I ever heard about their punishment.  I guess it was a little nicer than the brutal flogging that actually occurred.

Pirate Diary:  The Journal of Jake Carpenter
I think student’s would really enjoy this book, as I did myself.  I like how it is set up in the diary form and Jake writes about what he does on the ship as the days go by.  This could help to reinforce the idea of writing a journal in the classroom.  If students see the adventures of Jake they may begin thinking about some adventures they have had in their lives.  Although this book is fiction, some of the information is based on facts, and children may be able to feel as if they were on the ship with Jake experiencing the adventures right along side of him.  There were many pirate words introduced in the story that really make you feel like it’s a true story.  This was a book I will enjoy sharing with my future student’s.

I Am Blackbeard
Adapted from (Levstik & Barton, 1997)

I am cunning and fearless.
I wonder when I can make the next attack.
I hear the wind whipping in the sails, and the ocean roaring.
I glimpse an enemy flag ahead.
I want to capture the schooner and seize sugar, spices, and cloth for the bazaar.
I am cunning and fearless

I pretend to be another country’s ship.
I feel that the Queen Anne’s Revenge was my greatest weapon.
I touch my cutlass and arm myself to brawl.
I worry about losing all of my treasures.
I cry when the rum has been drank.
I am cunning and fearless.

I understand the art of trickery.
I say that I am the most feared pirate ever.
I dream about capturing the Royal Navy’s fleet.
I try to appear frightening by burning rope in my hair.
I hope for tranquil seas and a swift breeze for my next voyage.
I am cunning and fearless.

Revised

I Am Blackbeard
Adapted from (Levstik & Barton, 1997)

I am cunning and fearless.
I wonder when I can launch my next attack.
I hear the wind whipping in the sails, and the ocean roaring.
I glimpse an enemy flag ahead, soon to be some sailors dead.
I want to capture the schooner and seize sugar, spices, and cloth for the bazaar.
I am cunning and fearless

I pretend to be another country’s ship by flying their flag held high.
I feel that the Queen Anne’s Revenge was my greatest weapon.
I touch my cutlass and arm myself to brawl.
I worry about losing all of my treasures.
I cry when the rum has been drunk, nothing left to wash my thoughts away.
I am cunning and fearless.

I understand the art of trickery between foe and “friend.”
I say that I am the most feared pirate ever.
I dream about capturing the Royal Navy’s fleet.
I try to appear frightening by burning rope in my hair.
I hope for tranquil seas and a swift breeze for my next voyage.
I am cunning and fearless.

Pirate Diary: The Journal of Jake Carpenter	Response
Quote: “Abraham tried to teach me the names of the ten sails. In return I taught him the names of the twenty-six letters. He learned his lesson quicker than I learned mine.” (pg. 15)	Reaction: I really liked this quote because I thought it showed friendship on the ship.  Abraham offered his services to Jake, so Jake in return was able to help Abraham with something he was good at, like the alphabet.
Effect: “The pirates had taken over our ship.  ” (pg. 23)	Cause:  “Our captain grudgingly agreed to give them a barrel, for we had plenty, and we shortened sail, slowing the Greyhound so that their men could come aboard. (pg. 21)
Quote: “The customs searchers were waiting for us.  They descended into the ship and had just begun to search the crew’s possessions when Noah dropped a purse full of pieces of eight – some ten for each searcher.  As none of us stirred to pick up the coins, the searchers guessed that Noah’s clumsiness was no accident.” (pg. 53)	Inference: As I was reading this section, I assumed that this meant they bribed the searchers to not go through all of their belongings.  I thought that the searchers took that money rather quickly with few questions.  I would have thought they would have wanted more and continued their search of the crew quarters.
What If You Met a Pirate?	Response
Quote: “Each crew member made his mark – sometimes in blood – on a written contract.  By signing, he promised to obey the rules: no gambling, drunkenness, fighting, stealing (from one another), or sleeping on duty.” (pg. 22)	Reaction: From previous information I had heard about pirates, I would have thought they would never “sign” a contract like this one.  They always seemed like they would be drinking or getting into some sort of trouble.  I guess if they didn’t obey these rules, it would possibly lead to flogging.
Fact: “False flags disguised a pirate vessel.  Pirates might fly the flag of a peaceful nation.  They would hide men below as they sailed sweetly up to the prize.” (pg. 4)	Opinion: I found this to be a very clever way of attacking other ships.  When you see a flag from someone who is supposed to be a peaceful nation, you don’t feel threatened and probably let your guard down.  That gives the pirates a great opportunity to overtake the ship.
Quote: “Food on a pirate ship was kept in barrels.  Pirates had no refrigerators.” (pg. 15)	Questions/Reaction: How did they make sure they had enough food to last the entire trip?  Did they have ports where they could dock to pick up more food for the ship?  Or did they just have to starve or eat rats and other creatures on the ship?  I know they were on trips for extended periods of time so I don’t see how they could keep a lot of food edible for that amount of time.

Section IV

Part A

1. The colonists were Europeans who had moved to North America to escape the rule of the crown.  They wanted to be able to have freedom of religion and cheap farmland.

2. The Navigation Acts were a series of laws that forced the colonists to trade only with England, using English ships with English crews.

3. The colonists did not like the Navigation Acts because the laws forced them to accept low prices for the goods they produced.  Many colonists ignored the laws.

4. Freebooters were smugglers who supplied untaxed goods to grateful settlers on  the coast of America.  They were welcome visitors to most ports.

5. The colonists didn’t want to turn their backs on the ones who had protected them.  They helped the pirates by supplying and repairing their ships.  The pirates then sold them their booty at reduced prices.

Part B

1. I didn’t know there were so many different names for pirates, from freebooters to buccaneers to privateers.  They were each very different and served on their ships for different reasons.  For example, the privateers were there with papers to pirate enemy ships, while the other two were pirating for their own good, or to sell to other people.

2. I thought the freebooters were the most interesting because they would pirate ships and then bring back the prize and sell it to the colonists.  I found this to be funny since pirates are supposed to be breaking the laws, yet they were coming onto land to sell the goods they had sold.

Not So Jolly Roger

I found this book to be very entertaining and I was always wondering what kind of mischief the three boys would be in next.  This was a very easy read, that only took me one or two days to get through.  I think students would enjoy the fact that it is a fairly short book, but it is interesting the whole way through.  They may even learn a little information about Blackbeard in the process.