Pirate Unit in Spanish

I have been loving doing unit studies with some of my students this summer!  Here is the latest one that I have been using...resources to learn about pirates in Spanish!

The basis for this unit has been Mi Pequena Larousse Enciclopedia: Los Piratas . This cute, (if pirates can be cute) little book goes through information on pirates like what they ate, wore, and fought using short sentences in Spanish. Pirate vocabulary is introduced throughout like sword, hook, sails, and flag.

I then formally teach the vocabulary using these words. The pictures and vocabulary are free. I just reduced their size and created two cards for each word: one with the picture of the word and the other with the actual Spanish word on it.  I use these cards to introduce the vocabulary.  If students can read or are beginning to understand the Spanish sound system you can lay out the word cards on the table. Then show them one of the pictures and call out the word for it in Spanish. The students then have to find the correct word. The set of cards can also be used for playing Memory and Go Fish.

While working with pirate vocabulary I teach prepositions like under, on, close to, etc. This packet has some great pictures in it to reinforce prepositions. I also bought Jake and The Never Land Pirates figurines so that we can do some hands-on activities with prepostions by giving them commands like "Pon el tesoro debajo del arbol."  They can also give commands to a fellow student once they feel confident to do so.

Another subject to cover while doing a pirate unit is geography.  See this post for more information. This version of Twister is fun.  Just call out instruction in Spanish instead of English. A great way to review the continents in Spanish!

Also, my students LOVE the Spot It! Games! Here is one that goes perfectly with a pirate unit. It is easy enough to use with beginning language students, too!  So check out 

Spot it! Jake and the Never Land Pirates- Numbers & Shapes.