How to Make Pirate Field Trips Fun & Educational

Talk Like a Pirate Day is annually on September 19th. We recently took a field trip onboard a pirate ship! Campeche lived in fear of pirates and suffered many pirate attacks in the years before the city walls were completed.

Once on board The Lorencillo, we sipped the pirate's brew (Coca-cola) as we were regaled by tales of Pirates of the Past, and witnessed our very own shipboard sword fight (see the video below). We had a blast! (pun intended).

While you may not be able to actually take a ride on a pirate ship (which I  highly recommend!), you can still have a fun & educational Pirate Field Trip by following the suggestions below.

For Educational Purposes:

1. Start with a KWL chart, what do we KNOW? What do we WANT to know? And what did we LEARN? Answer the first two questions before you begin your field trip research.
2. Find books about pirates.
3. Research a few pirates who sound interesting.
4. Find out their favorite colors, and candy bars, and…. oh, sorry, how about their names, countries of birth, famous exploits etc. You can download this free biography notebooking page to record it all on.
5. Put their dates on your timeline.
6. If there are records of their travels, trace them on a map, like this one.
7. For the little people, download this free Pirate Coloring Book and talk about what they're wearing, where they are, what is happening in the pictures, the colors, and numbers, etc.

For Fun:

1. Find a real ship or boat that your can tour. A second choice would be a maritime or pirate museum, and a third choice would be a playground that has either a ship design or a high platform fort like a crow's nest on which you can re-enact a scene from your pirate's life. If none of those options are open, you can always make a ship with your kitchen and living room furniture!
2. Dress up like pirates (don't forget to take pictures!)
3. Choose a pirate name from this list
4. Make pirate hats
5. Make pirates flags
6. Create balloon, cardboard, or stick swords and have a mock sword fight.
7. Eat some fish and chips (and crackers for Polly)
8. Have a nature treasure hunt
9. And you may want to go all out and have a Pirate party! You can find party supplies here.

Once the fair maidens are rescued, the treasure found and pirates safely home again, take some time to talk through what you learned and observed during the field trip. Then go back and fill in the What we LEARNED part of your KWL chart.

You may find that you had so much fun you'll want to be a pirate every day!

This pack of portfolio forms includes another Field Trip evaluation that is very good.