Pirates

Pirate Diary:  The Journal of Jake Carpeter and What if You Met a Pirate

I absolutely loved the Pirate Diary.  I loved the way this story was told.  I think students will really enjoy this book because of the way in which it is told by a young boy.  Students love to dream and imagine themselves being astronauts, doctors, pilots, actors, musicians, etc.  Jake actually gets to be a real pirate and tell his story.  There are so many great things you could do with this book.  You could have students develop a diary about doing something that relates to the curriculum being taught, and write an entry each day about what happened.  This would also help students with their writing and being about to use their imagination to create a great story.

I loved What If You Met A Pirate just a tad bit more.  I found this book helpful and full of useful information.  I will be the first one to admit I had some misconceptions about pirates.  I thought pirates wanted huge ships.  I thought that each time they stole a ship, one of the reasons was because of its size and condition.  I thought bigger was better.  I guess I was wrong, and didn’t think about pirates wanting to stay hidden.  I also thought that prisoners walked the plank.  If this never happened, I wonder where it originated?  I think there had to be some kind of significance of the plank; maybe not for prisoners to plunge into the ocean, but maybe it had a purpose.  I think students would really enjoy this book for many reasons.  Mostly, I feel students would find it helpful when learning about pirates.  It will also clear up misconceptions that students have from watching movies like Pirates of the Caribbean.  I learned a lot about pirates from reading this book.  This book is kid friendly and the words are fairly easy to read and understand.  I can’t wait to try this book out in my classroom in the near future.

 

The Not-So-Jolly Roger

One word:  Wow.  That was a great book.  I loved this book, and if I loved it, I know my students would love it.  I was so into the book and wanted more and more with each page turn.  This was definitely one of my favorite books that I have had to read this semester.  The storyline is great.  It uses historical information and transforms it into a terrific story about three boys who get to travel through time.  How cool would it have been to really do that, and be able to meet Blackbeard?  I think kids would really enjoy this book, because of its use of imagination.  I will definitely use this book in my classroom and think it is a great learning tool.  I also like that at the back of the book it caught up with Blackbeard, Sam, Fred, and Joe.  I loved this book, and am actually thinking about buying the series of The Time Warp Trio.

 

Blackbeard I Am Rough Draft

I am rough and tough

I wonder where I’ll find me next treasure

I hear the sounds of dead pirates who rest without peace in Davy Jones’ Locker

I see the sunset which lets me know its time

I want to capture the ship and hang my flag high

I am rough and tough.

 

 

I pretend I am the God of the sea.

I feel the rush of the wind against me beard

I touch the canons and feel their coldness

I worry about me treasure being stolen

I cry-Ha I do not cry-I make me prisoners cry.

I am rough and tough.

 

 

I understand the terror of the sea

I say “What do you do with a drunken pirate?”

I dream about me treasure

I try to share me treasure with me crew

I hope to go down with my crew as the greatest pirate ever known

I am rough and tough.

 

Blackbeard I Am Poem Revised

I am rougher and tougher than any other pirate in the Caribbean

I wonder which direction the wind will take me today

I hear the sounds of dead pirates who rest without peace in Davy Jones’ Locker

I see the sunset which lets me know its time to attack

I want to capture ships and hang me flag high for all seamen to see

I am rougher and tougher than any other pirate in the Caribbean

 

I pretend I am Blackbeard, God of the Sea, the true Poseidon

I feel the salty air against me lips as it catches in me beard

I touch the cannons and feel the coldness they bring

I worry about being captured and killed by me enemies

I cry-Ha! I do not cry! I make me prisoners cry.

I am rougher and tougher than any other pirate in the Caribbean

 

I understand the terror of the sea

I say “What do you do with a drunken pirate?”

I dream about me ship Queen Anne’s Revenge

I hope to go down with my crew as the greatest pirate ever known

I am rougher and tougher than any other pirate in the Caribbean

 

Double Entry Diary:  Pirate Diary:  The Journal of Jake Carpenter and What if You Met a Pirate?

Section 1 A	“As I suspected, we are carrying salt fish, but also rice and timber.  We will return with sugar, molasses, Dutch gin, French brandy, and lace-all contraband”. (Pg. 13)	Inference/Question:  We know from previous social studies lessons on the movements of goods and their effect that certain things were not allowed to be imported or exported during certain time periods.  Why do you think the sailors did this anyway?
Section 1 B	“Pirates didn’t want big ships, and they didn’t want to fight at all.” (Pg. 10)	Connection:  I was surprised to find out that pirates didn’t want the biggest ships.  In movies and books pirates always have the biggest ships and steal even bigger ones.  This is a misconception that many people have regarding pirates and the ships they sailed.
Section 2 A	“The whole company chooses the captain and other officers.  And though the captain commands the ship, the crew may replace him with another if enough disagree with his orders”. (Pg. 32)	Reaction:  I was surprised by this practice.  I had a misconception about the way pirate captains were elected and treated their crew members.  I thought that whatever the captain says goes.
Section 2 B	“Surprise was the best: Sneak up on the prize as it sailed through a narrow passage at night, the swarm over the side of the ship, yelling like demons”. (Pg. 20)	Question:  Why do you think pirates snuck up on the prize ship at night? Also, why did they sneak up on the ship while it was sailing through a narrow passage?
Section 3 A	“The ship let out a terrible groan, as in pain, and there was a mighty crash from above”. (Pg. 49)	Personification:  We know that ships cannot really let out groans, as in pain, but ships can make horrifying noises that sound like a groan you or I would make when in extreme pain.  The author may have chosen to use these words to let the reader know just how loud the noise coming from the ship was.  The use of personification gives the reader more of an idea of what the ship sounded like.  The reader can actually hear the ship when reading that passage.
Section 3 B	“To get from point A to the dock at point B, both ships much sail back and forth, first with the wind one side, then turning to put the wind on the other side”. (Pg. 12)	Reaction:  Throughout all of the studies on pirates we have completed, I never really thought about how the ships sailed.  I thought they sailed in a straight line.  I did not know they had to sail back and forth.  This would take a lot of time to do.  I never realized how much time it would take to sail such short distances, let alone long distances.

 Section 4 A:

1. Who were the colonists?   The colonists were people who had originally been tied to the British, but many fled to America because in England they could not worship as they chose.  Others came because the farmland was free or cheap.  All colonists were independent-minded people.

2. What are the Navigation Acts?  The Navigation Acts forced the colonists to trade only with England, using English ships with English crews.

3. How did the colonists feel about Navigation Acts?  Colonial people did not like the Navigation Acts because the laws forced them to accept low prices for the goods they produced.  Many colonists chose to ignore these unpopular laws.  They sold their produce wherever they could get the best deal.  The British saw this as smuggling.

4. Who were freebooters?  Freebooters were mostly smugglers, supplying untaxed goods to grateful settlers on the coast of America. 

5. Describe the relationship between the colonists and the pirates?  Colonists would often surrender quickly if they thought pirates might skin them alive.  Colonial officials who wanted a share of the taxes were the enemies of the pirates.

Section 4 B:

1. What did you learn about the different kinds of pirates?  I learned that the world’s first pirates were sailors.  I learned that there were pirates in many different places all over the world.  Most pirates were similar in appearance, and did not look like they do in movies.  Pirates were from different places from around the world. 

2. Out of all the pirates mentioned in this section, which ones do you find most interesting? Please explain why.  The Corsairs were the most interesting to me.  The Barbarossa Brothers caught my attention.  I thought that they were interesting because of their unique excuse for plunder: religion.  I found it very interesting how they would capture Christian ships, they enslaved the crew and passengers.