Pirates
So, most camp people are in love with pirates. Pirates:
So I am trying to go over the ideas I had for this summer, to creat something better in the future. The following are lesson plans on what to include in the Creative Writing section next summer or anywhere else for that matter. The kids are going to be 2nd through 7th grade. Here?s a list that I made up. Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.
The activities may pertain to writing or anything else for that matter. It can be games (even which include running around), arts&crafts, etc.
Facts:
? A pirate was a robber who travels by water. Though most pirates targeted ships, some also launched attacks on coastal towns.
? A Jolly Roger is a pirates flag. Each captain created a flag unique to his command. Check out this site for examples of actual pirates flags! Jolly Roger
? Pirates were also known as Corsairs or Buccaneers.
? Corsairs were pirates who operated in the Mediteranian Sea between the 15th and 18th-centuries.
? Buccaneers were people of the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Tortuga, who were paid by the governors of the Caribbean islands to attack Spanish treasure ships and ports. Eventually the Buccaneers became more and more out of control and attacked any ship they thought carried valuable cargo, whether it belonged to the enemy or not. In this way they became true pirates.
? The ships pilot was actually the captain. The captain, as we understand them, was actually the battle leader. The pilot and captain retained the same portion of profits. If the pirate crew felt the captain was not getting them enough booty, they would vote him out and elect a new captain from their crew.
? Pirate attacks were often successful. This is because the ships usually carried far more crew than other ships of it's size. They easily out numbered their victims. They also altered their ships so they could carry more cannons.
? When ships saw the Jolly Roger flying on the mast of an approaching ship, they often surrendered without a fight because they new they would probably lose.
? If a ship flew a Jolly Roger that was red, poeple would be terrified to see the ship coming. A red Jolly Roger means that no mercy would be should to captian, crew and passengers.
? Blackbeard were a pirate that instilled fear in others. He was heavily armed with knives, cutlasses and pistols. He also tried to make himself espcially fearsome by making his eyes look wild and twisting pieces of fuse that he lite on fire in his thick tangled hair.
? There were many female pirates. Some examples are Anne Bonny, Mary Read and Grace O'Malley.
? Pirates stole many different types of things, known at booty. They stole gold, silver, pearls, emerald, food, barrels of wine and brandy, sails, anchors and other ship equipment.
? Pirate ships wheer the first democratic organization of the New World. Each pirate was allowed to vote on where the ship was to go or if a ship should be attacked. Each pirate received an equal share of the booty, with a double share going to the captain, pilot, carpenter, cook and share set aside for the maintenance of the ship. Each pirate signed an aggreement-called articles-before they joined. This paper detailed how much they would be paid, behaviour expected and punishment for breaking the rules. For breaking the rules a pirate would be marooned with a flagon of water and a pistol, to survive or die, flogged (40 lashes minus one) or shot.
? Pirates were compensated for loss of limb. They would received anywhere from 100-800 pieces of eight and possibly a slave.
? One popular drink for pirates actually contained gunpowder.
? Doctors didn't sail on pirate ships, so if a pirate's arm or leg was badly injured during battle, it was cut off by the ship's cook.
? The most common name for a pirate ship was, "Revenge".
? Some pirates believed that piecing their ears with silver or gold earrings would improve their eyesight.
Pirate Glossary:
? Ahoy
o Pirate greeting.
? Avast!
o A naval term meaning "What's up?" or "What are you doing?" or "Stop" or "Who goes there?"
? Belay
o to stop or be quiet.
? Black Spot
o Placing a black spot on another pirate means sentencing him to death. It can also be used to accuse him of a serious crime before other pirates.
? Booty Goods
o stolen on a pirate raid.
? Bounty
o Reward or payment, usually from a government, for the capture of a criminal.
? Buccaneer
o Pirate, originally based in the Carribean
? Bucko
o "friend".
? Code Of Conduct
o An official set of rules that governed pirate behaviour.
? Coffer
o A chest to keep treasure in.
? Corsairs
o Mediterranean privateers. Muslim cosairs sailed the Barbary coast and attacked Christian ships.
? Crow's Nest
o A small platform, sometimes enclosed, near the top of a mast, where a lookout has a better view of watching for sails or land.
? Cutlass
o Short sword, often with a curved blade.
? Doubloon
o A gold coin minted by Spain or Spanish colonies, worth about seven weeks' pay for an average sailor.
? Galleon
o A large ship of the type used by the Spanish in the sixteenth century.
? Gibbet
o Wooden frame for hanging a pirate's corpse.
? Hold
o A ship's store-room
? Jolly Roger
o Pirate flag, usually red or black and decorated with skulls, crossbones, and swords. Each pirate had his own design.
? Landlubber/Lubber
o A non-sailor.
? Letter of Marque
o An official, written permit allowing pirates to plunder enemy ships.
? Marooned
o To be left alone on an isolated island or place.
? Matey
o A piratical way to address someone.
? Me
o A piratical way to say, "my".
? Me Hearties
o Typical way for a pirate leader to address his crew.
? Mutiny
o To rise against authority, particularly a naval or military power.
? New World
o Name given to the Americans after colonization by Europeans in the 1500's.
? Pieces of Eight
o Spanish gold dollars worth eight Spanish escudos each often cut into pieces to make change.
? Pirate
o Robber or other criminal of the seas.
? Plunder
o To steal goods.
? Privateer
o Legalizes pirates. There were issued with documents allowing them to attack enemy ships.
? Sail Ho!
o A pirates way of letting other know that another ship is in view. The first part of a ship visible over the horizon is the sail.
? Scallywag
o Bad person.
? Scurvy
o (1) A deficiency disease which often afflicted sailors; it was caused by lack of vitamin C.
o (2) A derogatory adjective used to describe someone.
? Sea dog
o Experienced sailor.
? Sea Rover
o Pirate ship.
? Shiver me timbers
o An expression of surprise or fear.
? Spanish Main
o Spanish colonies in the Americas, stretching from Panama to the Orinoco River and including the Carribean sea.
? Spyglass
o A telescope.
? Strait
o A narrow stretch of water between areas of land.
? Walk the plank
o A dire punishment in which one must walk off a wooden board on the side of a ship and fall into the ocean.
? Weigh Anchor
o To haul the anchor up. Or, to leave port.
Writing Prompts:
? What were pirates' lives like?
? What would you expect to find if they discovered a sunken pirate ship?
? ?If I met a pirate, I would??
? ?A pirate is my friend??
? A dialogue between you and a pirate
? Pretend you are a lonely a pirate looking for friends
? A day in the life of a pirate
? ?If I were a pirate and needed to preserve my food, I would...?
? What would a pirate do when?.
? Letters to Pirates
? You're a pirate and your constant companion is your parrot. Write a story about something you said that he repeated at the wrong time. Did you get in trouble? Were you embarrassed? Did you get arrested? Be creative.
? Har. Har. Har. Imagine you're a pirate on a ship at sea. What's your name? What's your parrot's name? What are you seeking? Write a short story.
? ?Captain Redcoat looked far out to sea through his telescope. He saw a big splash. There was a...?
Arts and Crafts:
? Build a ship
? Write a message in a bottle
? Make pirate pi?atas
? Treasure Chests
o Provide each child with a shoebox. Give them scissors and glue and assorted decorative materials for them to make a treasure chest for themselves. (foil wrap, buttons, ribbon, pearls, wrapping paper, beads, etc)
? Treasure Bags
o Paper lunch bags for the children to decorate with glitter and gold paint. Help them write "Trevor's Treasures." Use them to carry art/writing projects at the end of the week.
? Create treasure maps
o Have the children draw an island on their construction paper.
o Write the name the water that surrounds their island (ocean, bay, cove, lake) on the map.
o Draw a compass rose in the lower right hand corner of the treasure map.
o Things to include on the island: symbols for hills, mountains, pond, lakes, forest, trees, big X to mark where the treasure is.
o When the treasure maps are finished age the maps by pressing a damp tea bag all over it. Tear the jagged edges all round the treasure map to
? Pirate flags creation
o Design a pirate flag that tells something about you.
o Pick something you are interested in or good at to include on your pirate flag (i.e. if you like the guitar include guitars on your pirate flag instead of crossbows).
o Include pirate symbols: skulls, skeletons, crossbones, cutlasses, hourglasses.
o Captains designed a custom Jolly Roger to intimidate any lesser-than Pirates or merchants. Bartholomew Roberts is a prime example:
o "Roberts held so much hatred for the people of the islands of Martinique and Barbados, that he created his black flag to illustrate it. On it was an image of himself holding a flaming sword in one hand, and dagger in the other. His feet resting on two human skulls. Under one the initials A.M.H., for A Marinican?s Head, and beneath the other, A.B.H., for A Barbadian Head."
o Any Marinian or Barbadian ship that found themselves up against this Jolly Roger surrendered immediately because they knew of his reputation.
? Make a spy galss
o Wrap and glue the roll in gold or silver foil.
o Decorate the outside of the spy glass. You can use plastic jewels, beads, embroidery floss, ribbon or construction paper.
? A wanted poster for a pirate
o Include his or her name, physical description, where he was last seen, what he is wanted for and the reward offered. Add a picture of your pirate.
Pirate Costume Ideas:
? Bandannas - Cut out square pieces of red cotton, polka dotted or plain, to make bandannas. Tie around the children's head.
? Belts - Cut large strips of black cotton to make the belts to tie around their waists.
? Eye patches Cut out eye patches from black cardboard and fasten rubber bands onto them and put over one eye.
? Mustaches - Give each child a black eye-liner pencil and provide a mirror for them to draw a mustache on their face.
? Hooks - Draw a hook on cardboard, cut it out and insert it in the bottom of a Styrofoam cup. The kids then insert there hand and it looks like a Pirate's Hook Hand.
? A red kerchief from the dime store and make an instant "scurvy swabbie.?
Party:
? Talk Like A Pirate Day
? Invitations to Various Pirates? Events:
? The Pirate Holiday Ball
? Pirate Jokes
? Pirate Name
? What's a pirate without a great pirate name? Provide them with paper and tape to write a name on and stick it on their clothing.
? Possible hunt for treasure
Games:
? Find the Crocodile
o Tick tock, find the croc. With a little imagination, an egg timer makes a suitable crocodile (remember peter pan? the ticking crocodile?) Have pirates (the kids) try to locate the hidden croc by its tick, before the bell rings.
? Hook the Treasure
o Prepare ahead of time brightly-colored plastic drink cups (16 oz or large enough to fit a kid's hand into) and cut an X hole in the bottom. Then push a wrapped candy cane halfway down into it. Voila! A pirate's prosthesis! Now empty a large bag of pretzels into a bowl. Now let's see how many pretzels the kids can fish out with their "hooks" in 60 seconds.
? Walk the Plank
o Take a long thick board and mount each side on bricks or books (if you want more of an effect, and you don't have a real pool or ocean for that matter in your backyard, take a kiddie pool and put it underneath the plank. Have inflatable alligators swim in it and that's your alligator pit.) The older kids can be blindfolded and see who can "walk the plank" without falling into the "alligator pit". Other kid pirates can have squirt bottles and can be instructed to squirt the plank walker if they touch the ground. If you decide that your group of kids is likely to be overly excited and you don't want them to possibly hurt themselves, you can also draw a plank on a sidewalk with chalk and have the kids walk inside the lines.
? Bobbing for Apples
o Hang cored apples at the kids height (you can do this from a piece of long wood, which can be held up securely with a ladder and the side of the house), then the kids have to bite the apple with their hands behind their back. It's a simple and classic game, but the kids love this sort of pirate games.
? Cannonballs Away
o Make two large pirate ships out of two refrigerator or sofa boxes (you can go to your nearest furniture store to find some). Divide the kids into two groups and put each team in their box. Give the first team two dozen ping-pong balls (you can paint them black as if they were cannon balls) and see how many "cannon balls" they can toss into the other teams "ship" to try and sink it. Team two can catch the "bombs" and toss back into the first team's ship, but they cannot pick "bombs" up off of the floor. After team one has used their two dozen balls, give team two a try, then count the bombs to see which team's ship was sunken.
? Pan for GOLD
o If you don't have a sandbox, take a kiddie pool and put sand in it. Then take pebbles and spray paint them gold and bury them in the sand. Prepare foil pie plates with holes punched in the bottoms for the kids to sift through the sand for the "Gold".
? Swab the Poop Deck
o This is a relay game where you divide the kids into two teams. With a broom or mop in hand, each kid will have to swab an inflated balloon through a simple obstacle course and back to the starting line. There, they will tag the next pirate in line, until each kid on the team has done their duty.
? Sword Fight
o Most of the kids will want to sword fight like the real pirates, so here's a safe solution! Set the stage for a duel. You can have the birthday kid and a guest start, while the others watch and anxiously wait their turn to "do battle". Each kid is given a breadstick for a sword and the object of the game is to break your opponent's breadstick without breaking your own; when you have nothing left but a stump you must surrender and the next challenger steps up. The person who stays the champ the longest is the winner. (Something you should tell the kids beforehand: that they are only allowed to hit the other person's breadstick, if any other body part gets hit the person is disqualified!).
? Walk the plank
o The Bonaccios secured a board across a Little Tykes pool with duct tape. They set toy alligators in the pool for ambience, then each child got to walk across. Upon reaching the other side, the pirate was awarded a Hook Hand. To make one, cut a slit in the bottom of a plastic cup. Cut a hook shape out of cardboard, wrap with foil, and slip it through the slit in the cup.
? Tick tock, find the croc
o With a little imagination, an egg timer makes a suitable crocodile. Have pirates try to locate the hidden croc by its tick, before the bell rings.
? Musical islands
o Set as many hula hoops on the floor as you have guests, and play music. Pirates must walk around the hoops until you turn off the tunes, at which point they must be standing inside one of the "islands" or they're out. Every few minutes, take away a hoop, until only one seafarer remains.
? A pirate booty game
o Jewels, painted rocks, and plastic coins are placed around the camp prior to the game, all the units/cabins competed to see who could collect the most stuff
o Make sure the kids know not to wander off from their group
o Some of the "robber" counselors went around and took groups' stuff,
o A "bank" to cash in the groups stuff so it could not get stolen. each group had a map that led to special prize).
? Pin the eye patch on the Pirate
o Played the same way was pin the tail on the donkey. The child who comes closest wins a prize. Variation: Pin the parrot on the pirate.
? A Treasure Hunt
? Cannonball Pop
o Use black balloons with prize slips inside a few of them.
? Peg Leg Race
o Three legged races.
? Panning for gold
o Spray paint some small rocks/stones gold. Fill a small wading pool with water and added a 25 lb. bag of sand and the "gold nuggets". Give the children metal pie plates and show them how to "pan" for gold.
? Marooned
o A game of tag were the person chasing everyone is the "Shark". The marooned sailors can go to the "Island" one at a time. Why not make an island out of a palm tree made of cardboard and a brown towel for sand. When the shark catches a sailor he becomes a shark too and tries to catch sailors. The last remaining sailor wins the game.
? Getting the Booty
o Get a refrigerator box and cut in half. Divide children and put each team in their box. Let them decorate their ship any way they want. Make sure they make a "Jolly Roger" for each team's ship. Give the kids glue or tape, markers, sequins, felt, paint, sticker or any other craft things. Give team one, 2 dozen ping-pong balls and see how many "cannon balls" they can toss into the other teams "ship" to try and sink it. Team two can catch the "bombs" and toss back into team ones ship, but they cannot pick "bombs" up off of the floor. After team one has used their 2 dozen balls, give team two a try, then count the bombs to see who sunk who's ship.
? Ship Captain (aka. Port & Starboard)
o One player is chosen as the captain. S/he calls out orders to the rest of the players who are the crew. If a player does not follow an order correctly, s/he is out. (This decision is made by the captain who is always right.)
? Orders:
? To the ship: run to the captain's right
? To the island: run to the captain's left
Hit the deck: lay down on your stomach (or if players don't want to get dirty, they can crouch down)
? Attention on deck: salute and yell, "Aye, aye captain!" --players may not move now until the captain gives the order of, "At ease!" (ie even if the captain gives a different order such as "to the ship" the crew must continue to remain at attention until told "at ease")
? Three men in a boat: the crew must form groups of three and sing "Row, row, row your boat" Anybody who is not in a group of three is out.
? The love boat: crew members grab a partner and dance. Anybody without a partner is out.
? Clear the deck: everyone must have their feet up off the floor
? Scrub the deck: everyone on their knees scrubbing
? Captain's Quarters: everyone ran towards the captain.
? Man-over-board: Players must find a partner as quickly as possible. One partner must lay on their stomach while the other places their foot on their partner's back. Children without a partner or pairs that are too slow are eliminated.
? A Periscope: Every player falls on their back and sticks one leg in the air. The last ones are eliminated.
? SHARK!!!!: Everyone must run to a designated base (multiple bases can be used). The last player to the base is eliminated.
? Crow's nest: All players must find a partner. The lightest player rides on their partner's back. Those without partners or who assemble the crow's nest too slowly are eliminated.
? Three maids in a row: Children form groups of three and sit in a vertical row. The players who are the odd man-out are eliminated.
? Sick turtle: Everyone falls onto their backs and waves hands and feet in the air.
? Bow: Run to the front of the boat
? Stern: Run to the back
? Port: Run to the left side of the boat
? Starboard: Run to the right side of the boat.
? Row the Boat: Each player finds a partner, sits face to face, holds hands, and pretends to row a boat. Players who can't find partners or who are too slow are eliminated.
? Alternative rules: If playing in a pool, all of the orders stay the same except for "hit the deck" which becomes "walk the plank." This means that crew members must bob underwater.
? To make the game less competitive, player do not get "out." Instead, if the captain notices that they do not follow an order, they must stand out for a count of 20.
Food:
? A "shipwreck" meal (we all sat on the floor)
? Pirate Food
o ?What would a pirate eat??
o Maybe make snacks that a pirate would eat
o I.e. split pea soup, salt pork dried beans, fish and Key Lime Pie, to fight scurvy
o Fish sticks or chicken nuggets, goldfish crackers, root 'beer', ginger 'ale', Jell-o Gems, "sharks blood" (Sprite with red Kool-Aid ice cubes), blue jello with gummy octopuses suspended in the middle, ice cream cone cupcakes decorated like pirates, hotdogs with pirate sails attached.
o Shark
? Take a watermelon and cut small v's at one end of the watermelon to resemble a mouth with teeth and scoop out the insides into little melon balls. Then fill the sharks mouth back up with the melon balls, grapes, etc. Use black candy for eyes and attach to shark with toothpicks. Make it really scary by adding gummy worms and people.
o Jolly Roger Cake
? Sheet cake, frost with chocolate frosting. Use frosting tube or other to make a skull and cross bones on front. Put a frosting eye patch and bandana on the skull. Make frosting swords on either side of the skull.
o Island Cake
? Sheet cake decorated with wavy blue icing. Make an island out of an upside down muffin cake. Use brown icing for the sandy island. Get a coke gummy and place it in the ocean (message in a bottle). If you go to your local dollar store, they usually have bags of animal/dinosaur toys that have palm trees in them. Use those trees on your island. You can even find pirate toys that you can use to decorate your cake with. A shark is always a cool touch.
o Pirate Ship Cake
? Bake a cake mix in two round pans. Cut each one in half. Use icing to stick the four layers together. Cut a small bit off the rounded end and stand the cake up to look like the hull of a boat. Ice it with chocolate icing then stick broken pieces of Flake chocolate bars (about five) to the sides to make the hull look wooden. Place a bamboo skewer into the top for a mast to fly the Jolly Roger (make out of construction paper or stickers). Place a few toy pirate figures on top of the cake. When serving, place crumpled blue cellophane around the base of the cake for an ocean.
Music:
? Make up their own pirate song
Creating books:
? The Idiots Guide to Being a Pirate
? If a pirate kept a journal/diary, what would he write in it?
? Create a comic strip
Theater
? How would act or maybe how people would react to him
? A news reporting team going to a scene where a pirate was spotted, having eye witness reports etc.
Poetry
? See poetry unit
Word games
? See word games unit
Thanks again
