Pirate Adventures 

A WebQuest for 4th Grade (pirates)

Designed by: Jennifer Harris

 Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation | Conclusion | Credits |


Introduction

What comes to your mind when you hear the word PIRATES - adventures at sea searching for treasure chests of gold, walking the plank, and robbing other ships of valuables?  Did you know that there were all kinds of pirates, even women.  Are you prepared to try and capture a pirate on one of his bloodthirsty adventures at sea?  If so - read on!!

 

 


The Task

While on this adventure you with two other students will create a WANTED AD for a pirate you have learned about through your research.  The WANTED AD will include a drawing of the pirate chosen, with a listing of his crimes and any reward that will be offered. 

 

The Process

To capture your pirate you should follow the steps below to be successful and so that he doesn't capture YOU!  In your team each person will have a role to play in creating the WANTED AD. 

  • Researcher - this person will research for information about the pirate his/her team has chosen.

  • Artist - this person will be responsible for drawing the pirate and any background pictures as accurately as possible.

  • Recorder - this person will take the researched information and include the crimes the selected pirate was known for.

  • All Team Members will select an accurate reward for their pirate that would have been reasonable during his life timeline.

 

  1.  First you'll be assigned to a team of 2 students.

  2.  Once you've picked a role to play, as a team you will need to decide on which pirate your team will learn about.

  3.  While the Researcher is completing his/her role, he/she needs to think about these questions: (What he/she is famous for?  What crimes did the pirate commit during his lifetime?  How did he commit his crimes?)

  4.  Team members may decide to organize the researched information that they will be responsible for by filling in a thinking map. 

  5.  The WANTED AD is your own creativity, so be as creative as you want.

  6.  When the posters are finished each group will present their WANTED AD to the class.

  7.  When presenting the poster it will be done as a "Who Am I?" game.  Each team will not tell the name of their pirate when presenting, but will give clues about him and how he looks so the other teams can guess the pirate. 

 

Links for Pirate Searches:

 

 

 


Evaluation

All the work you have done has been a group effort and you will receive a grade as a group.  Each role is very important and is needed for the final creation of the poster. 

 

Beginning

1

Developing

2

Accomplished

3

Exemplary

4

Score

 

Art Work

 

 

No Creativity 

- drawings are lifeless.  

  

Some Creativity shown.

Drawings are creative.

 Drawings are extremely creative.


 

Crimes Listed on the Poster

 

 

Lists one or no crimes on the WANTED AD poster.

Lists 2 to 5 crimes on the WANTED AD poster.

Lists more than 5 crimes on the WANTED AD poster. 

Lists more than 5 crimes on the WANTED AD poster and how the crimes were committed.

 

 

Rewards 

 

No Creativity - reward has no or little detail.

Some Creativity - reward has more details, but doesn't fit time period of pirates

Reward is Creative and fits the time period of pirates. 

 Reward is extremely Creative and fits the exact time period of pirates.

 

Conventions of Print

 

Very frequent grammar and spelling errors which makes the writing impossible to understand.

Frequent grammar and spelling errors which make the writing difficult to understand.

 

 Grammar and spelling errors do not detract from understanding the writing. Grammar and spelling errors are infrequent, and writing is clear.

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance of Poster

 Little or no color in drawing, no name of the pirate, no heading for sections, no organization.  Some color in drawing, name of pirate included, crime and reward is not organized into separate sections. Drawing is colorful and neat, name of pirate is included, each section is labeled correctly.

Drawing is colorful and neat, full name and nick name of pirate is included, each section is labeled and each crime is numbered or bulleted.  The overall appearance depicts what an actual WANTED poster would have looked like 

 time period. 


Conclusion

Now that you have learned about one pirate , you can read about many more pirates and their adventures at sea and on land.

 

     


Credits & References

I would like to thank the following resources for their helpful information.  

     Teacher Scholastic

     National Geographic

 Other References:

  • Mystery Tour  by:  Beth Craddock Smith

  • Pirates by:  Dina Anastasia

  • Blackbeard and the Topsail Island Pirate  by:  Lew Wallace

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page