Title: What if you met a Pirate

By Jan Adkins

Shared Reading Lesson Plan: By Anupama Attri

Through this lesson plan I outline an interdisciplinary unit of study using quality childrens literature, and
I describe several instructional strategies and activities for reading and responding to historical fiction
and informational texts.

Key Understandings:

Provide students with a taste of historical fiction

By bringing alive facts from the past; I intend to augment

themes, concepts, and information about characters, events, or
places in historical fiction with theme based environment, and
interesting role plays that can provide more in-depth coverage of
topics while accommodating various reading levels.

Engage students in more inspired learning.

Assessment:

Observing students

Classroom Presentations

Performance Tasks

Question & Answers as below

Enquiry Question

What is a pirate?

Suggested Activity
Students discuss the meaning of
the word pirate using prior
knowledge and resources such as
dictionaries.

What do pirates do?

In groups students brainstorm

all of the activities and
behaviours that pirates might
engage in.

Where do pirates live and work?

In pairs students investigate

where pirating activity has
occurred around the world at
different times in history.

Are pirates real?

Brainstorm a list of pirates

students have heard of.
Students work in pairs to
research and sort the list into

fictional pirates and actual

pirates.
Are there pirates in the world

Weekly reports of pirating

today?

activity can be accessed on:

www.iccccs.org/imb/overview.php

Why did/do people become

Students develop a PMI chart to

pirates?

show the events, values or

circumstances that might lead
to a life as a pirate.

How do pirates do their work?

In small groups students

develop a role play showing
different aspects of the life
and work of a pirate.

What skills and equipment do

Students make a mind map or

pirates need?

concept web showing the skills

and equipment a good pirate
would need.

How do people feel about

Students survey their friends

pirates?

and families on attitudes and

feelings toward pirates.

What do people know about

Students interview their peers,

pirates?

adults and family members and

record prior knowledge about
pirates.

Prior Knowledge:
In order to gauge how much students have learned, it is not enough to
assess their knowledge and skills at the end of the course or program.
We also need to find out what they know coming in so that we can
identify more specifically the knowledge and skills they have gained
during the course or program.

Key Concepts that can be gauged prior to this unit

Pirates are the thieves of the sea.

Pirates have existed at all times in history and in all the

oceans of the world.

Pirates are male and female and come from a wide range of
backgrounds.

Pirates work together in teams.

Pirates need particular skills to be successful.

Pirates from movies, literature and the media have formed popular
images of pirate identity and culture.

Many popular pirate images and stereotypes are based on the

identities, behaviours and stories of individual pirates in
history.

Teaching Focus/Curriculum Expectations:

The Pirate shared reading program has strong links with the study of
Society and Environment and can also be integrated into other areas of
study.
Social studies

Interactions and interdependence of societies and cultures

Engagement with diverse view points within a community and

society.

Understanding and valuing of the past in peoples lives.

Comprehension

Gathering and analysing primary and secondary sources of

information.

Critically questioning interpretations of past and present events

and possible futures.

Investigation of the roles, intentions and motives of individuals

and groups in relation to past and current events and issues.

Language

Read and demonstrate understanding of a variety of literature,

graphics, presentations and other content, using a range of
strategies to construct meaning.

Teaching Strategies:

Question/Answer

Small-group work

Presentations

Group Discussions & Role playing

Use of Media content including Audio, Video and internet

Encourage students to make theme based classroom decorations

Collaborative Learning Strategies:

Students will have the opportunity to work in small groups and whole
class discussions.

Apply ethical and moral reasoning skills

Apply creative problem solving skills

Applying values clarification skills

Materials / Preparation for Teaching:

Projector or TV Screens with Media Player

Audio Equipment

Camera for Student pictures

Pirate Dresses or memorabilia if possible

Various Pirate theme based Posters

Blank vocabulary cards for word wall

Post-it notes

Markers and poster paper

Exit card, graphic organizers

Differentiated Instruction:

I will prepare and possesses a deep knowledge of the reading

process, an understanding of the strengths and needs of her
students, and the ability to teach responsively.

Assessment

Grouping Formats

Classroom Management

Materials

Length and Frequency of Instruction

Lesson Focus

Shared ReadingPlanning the Lesson

Day 1: Focus on Critical Thinking and generate Interest

The Lesson will begin with a CD of pirate music playing as the

students enter the classroom. Books, photographs, maps, and
other piratical artifacts will be arranged in different areas
of the classroom. The pirate paraphernalia will immediately
captivate students.

Introduce the book by reading the title.

Invite students to begin their own Pirate DiaryNotebook

Test Prior knowledge by asking questions discussed above

Ask Questions and let the students answer

Read several pages with expression and without interruption,

asking predictive questions, only where appropriate without
interfering with the flow of the story.

At the conclusion of the reading, ask students to think

critically about the plot, characters, and setting.

My Goal will be was to launch the lesson by piquing

students interests in pirates.

Day 2: Focus on Grammar, vocabulary, phrasing and fluency

Choose one or two pages and focus on the conventions of print

that affect the way we read: punctuation, bold type, italics,
ellipses, etc

Select what is appropriate to the developmental stage of the

majority of students:

Beginning stage: full stop, capital letters, comma, question

mark, quotation marks, and exclamation mark.

Later stage: possessive apostrophe, parenthesis, colon, semicolon, dash, ellipses.

Day 3: Focus on Processing Information

Use drama or role play to act out the story.

I will divide the students into three groups and ask them to,
write down What I Notice (their observations) and any questions
they had.

Students will be encouraged to write about anything that they

found interesting, each group will then share their findings,
wonderings, observations, and questions in whole class
discussion.

This will be the perfect segue to a KWL (what I Know, what I Want
to know, what I have Learned) because students will develop
enough background knowledge about pirates to arouse their
curiosities about time, place, people, culture, and ideas
associated with these seafaring souls.

Make a class book or video that shares the experience of the

story.

Reflections
Combining historical fiction and content about key social studies
topics with engaging and interactive comprehension activities will
facilitate students comprehension and understanding of social studies
content as well as a desire to read and discover the world around us.

I believe this will generate tremendous interest among students

towards reading literature as well as social studies.

I included a variety of instructional strategies, which I think

will meet the needs of all students.

Students were encouraged to make observations, take notes and

share with small groups and the class as a whole.

References
http://scholarworks.wmich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1081&context=reading_horizons
http://www.eworkshop.on.ca/edu/core.cfm?p=main&modColour=1&modID=21&m=111&L=1
http://www.worknubi.com/2014/reading-4th-grade/
http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document/reports/literacy/panel/literacy.pdf
http://eworkshop.on.ca/edu/resources/guides/Guide_Lit_456_Vol_5_Reading.pdf
www.icc-ccs.org/imb/overview.php