Shiver Me Timbers!

Though we teach children in English at school, you would not have known it if you had been in the second grade at Park View this week. There were scurvy dogs and scalawags, captains and mateys, and many "A-hoy there's!" as they celebrated National Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day. Our teachers planned a special day for the 85 students dressed in their pirate hats and garb. They read many books, such as "How I Became a Pirate," and explained their own pirate conversion in a short auto-biography. Elle McClellan wrote, "One day, I was in my backyard and even though I don't have a pool or pond, a pirate ship came! They looked worried, and came up to me and said, 'Do you have nails and wood?' I said 'Yes.' They said, 'Good! Can we use it?' 'Yes,' I said. 'Good, can we also trust you to take care of our treasure?' 'Yes,' I said, 'I will guard it with my life!' Then they got the wood for their faire and were off. The end." Teachers designed a place-value treasure hunt for math on Pirate Day. Children listened to clues about a multi-digit number and their responses led them to more clues and finally...treasure.Other activities for the day included:  making a pirate face from a paper plate, constructing pirate flags and telescopes, and writing pirate poems full of alliteration. The kids also enjoyed "Captain Says," a game much like "Simon Says" but with lots of ship work movements. It was a successful day that the children enjoyed and will remember for a long time to come.