Pirates In The Classroom Teaching Curriculum Template printable pdf download

Pirates in the classroom

By Mark "Cap'n Slappy" Summers & John Ol' Chumbucket" Baur

Talk Like a Pirate Day: September 19

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Background: Why Talk Like a Pirate?

Talk Like a Pirate Day is the brainchild (if that’s the right word) of two friends, John Baur and Mark

Summers, who thought, ‘wouldn't it be fun to have one day a year when people shake off their serious side

and talk like pirates?’ Since September 2002, when syndicated columnist, Pulitzer Prize Winner Dave

Barry wrote about the idea, John and Mark have been deluged with letters and e-mails about how “Talk

Like a Pirate Day” can be applied in various settings.

One of our big surprises has been how educators have embraced the spirit of Talk Like a Pirate Day

and some things they are doing with their students to make learning fun. We are happy to share some

ideas we have received as well as some we have come up with on our own. While the day was not

necessarily developed with children in mind, both Mark and John are very mindful of children's needs.

John is the father of six and Mark is a behavior specialist serving several school districts. John's wife,

Victoria, founded a local teen theater’ program in which both Mark and John have been very active.

In the first year that Talk Like a Pirate Day went national, (in truth, it became International Talk Like

a Pirate Day and is being celebrated this year by many in Ireland, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom

and even on Okinawa) a local teacher sent home a note to parents saying that his sixth grade class was

going to be celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day by learning about some classic books about pirates,

“Treasure Island,” studying a map of the Caribbean and watching the movie, “The Princess Bride.”

But to answer the question in the title of this section, “why?” John and Mark typically say simply,

“Because it's fun!” In our experience, fun breeds creativity, creativity breeds curiosity and curiosity is the

mother of learning.

Now, it may be important to remind children that while pirates were, in fact, bad people who did bad

things, we are celebrating more the spirit of adventure and the human need to engage in the act of

discovery. When people ask us how we will dress or what we will do for Talk Like a Pirate Day, we

remind them that this is, in fact, ‘TALK’ Like a Pirate Day. Eye patches, hooks and peg legs are all

optional, parrots are actively discouraged and any confusion with Talk Like a PARROT Day should be

immediately extinguished, as it is sure to drive any parent or teacher insane after mere minutes.

Here are some ideas that might make Talk Like a Pirate Day a school-friendly activity:

1) Learn your nautical directions:

Starboard = right

Pirates In The Classroom Teaching Curriculum Template